When You First Started Writing Versus Now

The more you write and publish, the more you improve as an author and the more your viewpoints on things change. Here's some examples:

1. When you finish the first draft of a novel...

The First Time: "Oh my God, you guys! Let's celebrate with some champagne! I just finished writing my first novel!"

Later Times: "Oh my God, you guys! Do you want to grab a beer? I just started writing this novel and I have a headache thinking about how much work it will still need before it's finished."

2. When you think of your strengths...

At First: "I'm such a wonderful writer! People will be amazed at my vocabulary and grammar! I will be on every bestselling list as people bow down and worship me!"

After Many Query Letter Rejections And One Star Reviews: "People hate my writing, but I love their hatred! Your mean words can't hurt me because I'm used to rejection, Neener-neener-neener! I dare you to write a one star review with more curse words than that last one. It's like jumping off a cliff, it gives me an adrenaline rush!"

3. When you get critiques back...

The First Time: "Everything is marked in red! Does this mean I'm terrible at writing?"

Later Times: "Wait, what? There's a whole page of my novel with no critiques on it?! You have to rip my story to shreds or I'll look terrible in front of my readers."

4. When you start selling books...

The First Time: "I am going to make thousands of dollars a month!"

Later Times: "Yes! I made $20 this month! That's a dollar better than last month!"

5. When you talk about your muse...

The First Time: "I sit down and try to write, but my muse doesn't come to me. I have to be in the right mood. She's so fickle."

Later Times: "The muse is my bitch! I hold a gun to her head and make her work with me every day or we don't get paid."

6.  Regarding Social Media...

The First Time: "You mean, I have to actually get online and talk to people sometimes? *gulp* I just want to write and not bother with that stuff!"

Later Times: "You mean, I actually have to get off social media and write sometimes? *frown* But I love talking to people and they need to see more of my cat pictures!"

7. Talking About Characters...

The First Time: "I created this character. She's so cool! Let me tell you about her."

Later Times: "I'm writing about this character and she keeps changing the story in ways that she's not supposed to. I'm the writer, but it feels like sometimes she's the one writing through me. Wait, don't go. I swear I'm not crazy! I only argue with my characters sometimes!"