Very much this. I’m an author, too, and it’s so easy to look at so many others successes and get lost with your direction. It’s also so easy to forget all that has been achieved already. It doesn’t look like theirs, but it looks like mine. That’s okay, too.
Jennie! Our twin brain strikes again. I'd do DIY trepanning with a screwdriver if I thought it might stop me from comparing myself with people. But - you write SO BEAUTIFULLY about humans in all their human glory, and comparison is a big part of that. This is what I try to tell myself, anyway. When I get really hung up on a peer who is killing it, and I feel Big Feelings, I think 'Research!' (I was really struck by Jojo's brilliant post too. And I suspect that for all the comparison woe, we're not too bad - we're not spending eight hours at a time on Insta scrolling and sneering at people's highlights and skirting boards...) X
Thank you for this and for the recommendation of the Jo Jo Moyes post - I haven't read anything by her and will definitely take a little scoot over to her substack. I started here very recently and what has struck me is the desperation evident in many writers' posts asking for reciprocal subscribing just to get their numbers up. The trouble with that approach though, is that we can end up in expanding echo chambers of desperate writers rather than finding our reader audience.
I found you because the word 'crow' always pulls me in!
Regarding your comfort TV when feeling anxious - that is very relatable. I tend to find old b&w films on YouTube and recently have been binge-listening to Frank Skinner's Poetry Podcast.
Ah yes, JoJo's post really resonated with me as well. Who said comparisons are odious? But on a lighter note, I'm really enjoying The List at the moment, and am seeing it everywhere - bookshops, supermarkets - it must be giving you some reassurance!
Very much this. I’m an author, too, and it’s so easy to look at so many others successes and get lost with your direction. It’s also so easy to forget all that has been achieved already. It doesn’t look like theirs, but it looks like mine. That’s okay, too.
Hi Jennie, I really resonate with this as a recent debut. So hard to see what other authors are doing and not compare. You wrote it brilliantly 👏
I’m so glad Chloe! And congratulations x
Jennie! Our twin brain strikes again. I'd do DIY trepanning with a screwdriver if I thought it might stop me from comparing myself with people. But - you write SO BEAUTIFULLY about humans in all their human glory, and comparison is a big part of that. This is what I try to tell myself, anyway. When I get really hung up on a peer who is killing it, and I feel Big Feelings, I think 'Research!' (I was really struck by Jojo's brilliant post too. And I suspect that for all the comparison woe, we're not too bad - we're not spending eight hours at a time on Insta scrolling and sneering at people's highlights and skirting boards...) X
Just love you Daisy! Thank you so much for the solidarity x
Thank you for this and for the recommendation of the Jo Jo Moyes post - I haven't read anything by her and will definitely take a little scoot over to her substack. I started here very recently and what has struck me is the desperation evident in many writers' posts asking for reciprocal subscribing just to get their numbers up. The trouble with that approach though, is that we can end up in expanding echo chambers of desperate writers rather than finding our reader audience.
I found you because the word 'crow' always pulls me in!
Regarding your comfort TV when feeling anxious - that is very relatable. I tend to find old b&w films on YouTube and recently have been binge-listening to Frank Skinner's Poetry Podcast.
Oh I must check that out, and thank you! 🙏
Ah yes, JoJo's post really resonated with me as well. Who said comparisons are odious? But on a lighter note, I'm really enjoying The List at the moment, and am seeing it everywhere - bookshops, supermarkets - it must be giving you some reassurance!
Ahhh thank you!
🫶🏻
Thank you. I needed to hear that…