Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and is looking forward to the New Year. With my grandchildren around me, my Christmas could not have been better. I am now looking forward to what 2015 holds. Which brings me to the reason for the headline above. Actually, it came about as a result of a post I read this morning, one that had nothing to do with writing. The author was speaking about expectations in general and she stated that expecting too much from others can lead to disappointment. And she was right. We should only set standards by ourselves.
So, what expectations do we have of ourselves as writers? I know for myself, I set my expectations very high. I want to be the best writer I can be. I want my work to stand out from among the others. There is a trend in writing and publishing toward producing work that is quite similar to what is already on the market. One person writes a successful vampire story and hundreds flood the market. One person writes a dystopian novel and we get hundreds more. And I wouldn’t even touch on the romance market. I suppose we are afraid that no one would read our books, or, worse yet, we would not be able to find an agent. The latter may very well be true, but whatever happened to originality and creativity and uniqueness? Where are the Shakespeares, the Jane Austens, the Faulkners of our day?
A friend of mine who is a voracious reader told me recently that Agatha Christie, who wrote 91 books, 82 of which are mysteries, has a unique plot and unpredictable ending for each one of her mysteries. Now that’s what I call creativity. I read Agatha Christie when I was growing up, so I may have to go and reread some of them through the eyes of an author.
In 2015, my expectation is to be my creative best, and if I get only one reader, then so be it. What are your expectations? Please share them in the comments box below.
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December 27th, 2014 at 12:18 pm
Thank you for linking to my review of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. I find I’ve found new things to enjoy in the Christie novels by rereading them so maybe you will too.
December 28th, 2014 at 7:32 am
Hi Cleo,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. It’s been such a long time since I read Agatha Christie, but my friend and your review have encouraged me to reread them, so I will. Happy New Year!