My gaming computer crashed this weekend. Not the tragic event that it would be for most people because I don’t keep much on that computer. I keep most of it on my laptop, which is still all healthy and well. My gaming machine is too, now. The sucky thing is that I was working on two blog templates, and I do it on my gaming machine because it has the graphics card to support the graphics work I do for my templates. And the monitor. I can do a lot of things on a laptop monitor, but detailed, high-res graphics editing is not one of them.
So I lost my not yet posted blog template, and all of the graphics for Mireyah’s blog template. I spent yesterday restoring the machine and trying to recreate her graphics because she’s been sweet and kind and patient while I pull this all together for her.
In other news, I stumbled on a link via a link on Friday, about the importance of writers having cheerleaders. And it made me sad. Not because I disagreed, but because I agree completely and realized I don’t have such a thing. I’m one of those people who thrives off praise. I recognize the value of critique (which you might have quessed if you’ve read any previous entries of mine), but I love hearing what’s good about my stories, too.
And reading the article I realized that part of the reason I don’t like writing as much as I used to is because I don’t have anyone who does that for me. I know a great group of people who tell me what needs to be fixed, but no one who tells me early on in the process what’s genuinely working really well and gives me the indirect support to keep going.
Hmm…I’ll have to find such a thing I think…I hope.
That sounds like a good idea. I have a few friends on twitter, one in particular, who act as cheerleaders. Some of my family can be but others don’t really understand writing at all. Whenever I get a new idea, I get told it’s great or that it’s good but should simmer some more. It does help to get some cheerleading and not all criticism.
The first drawing class I took in college was the hardest in way of criticism for me. Compared to that, any writing type doesn’t bother me as much anymore since I went through the experience. Each drawing we would have a day where we would do group critiques. I’d never done much actual drawing in high school and never a huge still-life drawings. The critiques my projects were almost always silence or things I could fix/change. Everyone else got mostly praise with the occasional suggestion of fixing something. Sucked when each time I wouldn’t get a single praise while most the class rarely got any criticism. Just one praise can really make everything better.
Woman. You KNOW that I am ALWAYS willing to read anything you send me!!! *glare* Now I’m hurt that you didn’t think of me. >_>