The thing about writing....

I consider writing to be a hobby.  

Big surprise, huh? But no, really. Writing is only a hobby to me, and even though I'd love to live off my hobby at some point, then I'm still hesitant.

What if I try and don't make the cut?

What if I do make the cut, and I then lose my touch? 

What if I'm really no good?

What if by waiting to do something about it, I'm really just harming myself?

What if I flop?

What if, what if, what if....

Do you recognize those two words from yourself? You should... It's that annoying little voice at the back of your head. It makes life hard, and not just with writing. The "What if" monster continuously attempts to bring you doubt on all aspects of your life.

So what can you do to fight it? In all honesty-- Not much. It'll always be there.

But I can tell you what I do, and more importantly, why it seems to work for me most of the time.

I say "most" because as with most things in the world, there's always that one exception to the rule. So take what you want from this, and apply it to yourself.

The way I see writing, and this is the writing I do on here, and on Wattpad, is that I am the God of all! 

I make the rules, I try things out, and when it doesn't work, I'm also the one responsible for changing it. IF I refuse, then I won't improve.

Personally, I can live with never amounting to anything with writing. As long as I at least manage to satisfy myself. The reason why I say so? It's because I am my own worst critic.

Nothing I do is perfect. Nothing I do will be perfect.

So I can either give up, or keep improving and moving on.

My choice? The latter. Definitely the latter.

But Maja, how do you manage that? When your mind keeps telling you that what you're doing is wrong, and you can't make it better?

Well, dear random interviewer in my head, I believe that sometimes there's things that doesn't need fixing. There's not one definite rule to writing. Well. There is one! And one only! It involves words.

The way you do it: typewriter, pen and paper, crayons on pavement, paint on canvas, speech to text or computer, force a friend to type it for you. It all works. 

The way you go about it: Outlining, writing from the top of your head, worldbuilding, edit later, word diarrhea, jumping in chapters. It all works.

The way you finish it: beta reader, self editing, reading out loud, oxford grammar, US english, UK english. It all works.

The way you make it available to others: Uploading on Wattpad, Email it to friends, make it a note on facebook, self-publishing, sending it to an agent, indie publishing, traditional publishing, e-book, paperback, printing it out, order one copy to have on the shelf. It all works.

Do you see a pattern here?

If not, then read it again and repeat doing that, until you realize that there's no right way of writing. What works for me, might not work for you. That doesn't make what I do wrong though. Doesn't make it right either. It makes it appliable to me, and that's what you should seek in writing.

Writing is a form of art, and it's always evolving. Language evolves, slang becomes more acceptable, time changes, and along with the constant battle against originality, you need to think outside the box.

Which is why it's important, especially on free writing website as Wattpad that you always consider whether the opinion given to you is something you agree with.

The thing about writing, is that you only manage to make it unique and original, if you make it special to you.

What's new?

Well. I'm on a roll here! :D

First of all, I'd like to share this really nice picture that has both me and my new gift in it:

Let me ego-boost myself while I fawn over how self-satisfied I am over that picture. I mean, I'm not usually conceited, nor am I depressed about how I look. However, I honestly think that I'm pretty-looking there. Humor me for a while, please? :)

Book news: My boyfriend's book (finally) went online for sale. He's now a twice published author. How cool is that? Well, I think it's pretty neat, plus I of course love the book. If you want a good read, you can purchase his second book here:

http://www.amazon.com/Psych-Investigation-Episodes-Episode-ebook/dp/B00CTX81V6/ref=la_B009121ROQ_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368767493&sr=1-2

If you haven't read the first book in the series, you can always check it out by trying the first one for free:
http://www.amazon.com/Psych-Investigation-Episodes-Episode-ebook/dp/B0090U05WO/ref=la_B009121ROQ_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368767493&sr=1-1

That's pretty awesome, right? Remember to be a good sport and review it. This only helps the author and other readers :)  Hehe.

On a total other tangent; I was browsing through Facebook pages, because let's face it--They're awesome. They are what we can see in our newsfeed and be motivated to get the best out of our lives. If you're like me, then you know that feeling of seeing something truly inspirational that makes you look at life in a whole other way, even if just for a second.

I found one of those pages today: http://www.facebook.com/JasonsActive90DayChallenge

I'm one of those people that zap over the TV-shop channel, because I always get this bad feeling inside of all the super-slim people that are worlds away from my body-type. All while there's this nagging feeling inside me, telling me that I could do it--I should do it.

Yet, I don't. I need to be inspired and motivated to do something, because to be honest? I'm just a lazy bum.
So to see that someone set a goal for themselves, and managed to get there - only to keep moving forward? So inspiring.

And its an important lesson in everything. You can do what you set your mind to! And this is just one of those success stories, and Jason, who wants to be the next Vi-Champ, should have all the support and cheering in the world, because he's truly an inspiration. Pop over there to give a few encouraging words, yeah?

For more information, and other who wants to fight obesity, you can also check out Jason's website: http://jaconley.myvi.net/