Ever strive for mediocre?

What is it you think you've "lost"? The desire to want what everyone else does?

I'll go the obvious here and invoke Emily Dickinson and J.D. Salinger - and, to some degree, Steely Dan and Van Morrison. Tours and publicity aren't everybody's thing.

Heck, I haven't written anything for money, and have hardly ever submitted anything I didn't know in advance would be accepted. Some day.

Are you happy with what you're up to?

Oh! No, give me money. Groupies, not so much

Nah. I strive for really bad. By all available evidence, I'm highly successful at it.

tinasamuels said:

I am.

I'm content.

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That is fantastic. Seriously.

And yea.... aren't we suppose to want, or seek, fortune and fame and that spotlight? Aren't we suppose to want to be Othello in the play and not a tree in the background? Everyone around me is so materialistic, products of the Gimme Society. I don't want really much of anything and it seems that by a quantity aspect I'm in the minority.

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It feels that way sometimes, doesn't it?

I love to joke about hitting the NYT Bestseller list, or winning a Pulitzer/National Book Award/etc., but my real goal is far more simple: I want to make enough money writing so that I can afford to keep writing, support a family, and travel. That's it. I'd be perfectly happy never hearing, "Aren't you...?" I'm really just in this because I like telling stories. Collecting "stuff" doesn't interest me much.

But I'm also aware that while writing is a solitary endeavor, publishing is not. Others will rely on me to "perform" to some degree so that they, too, can make money. This is, after all, a business. So I'm making my peace with the idea that promotion will become necessary, and figuring out where my boundaries are.

However, what you desire can be done if you feel this strongly. There are others who've maintained anonymity or (at least) a low profile. How much of yourself you put out there is ultimately up to you--no striving for mediocrity necessary. When it comes to your writing, give it your all.

You'd be surprised how many of us feel the way you do.

I don't write so I can jet around the globe or roll around in money (although that would be kind of fun), but I do strive to put forth the best product I can. That goes for all areas of life--not just writing. I enter a race to win, not just to finish. But if I finish knowing I ran the best race I could, well that's perfectly acceptable to me.
[But I'll try again...and again...and again. Sense a pattern here? ]

Anyway, do what makes you happy. And it sounds like you are so well done!

What's mediocre? This word doesn't seem to be in my dictionary.

So no. I don't believe in doing as little as possible for the greatest rewards.

Mediocrity won't get me a place on an MA degree - there are only 6 Gothic Studies degrees in the world [only 1 in the UK.]

Mediocre writing and effort won't get me an agent or publishing deal.

Mediocrity in my real job isn't good enough. The only place it's good enough for is the slush pile.

I always strive for excellence.

Good enough...isn't.

I strive for mediocre in some things, but they are just hobbies or things I do with friends. Or Pass/Fail classes I hated having to take

Bellydancing, for instance. It's fun, but mediocre works well for me I enjoy the classes, but I'm not going to actually do it anywhere. Eeek!

I never strive for mediocre in anything. That may be the end result, but if so-so is the best I can do, I can guarantee it is my best.

scarletpeaches said:

I never strive for mediocre in anything. That may be the end result, but if so-so is the best I can do, I can guarantee it is my best.

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Your best is almost certainly better than other peoples' best. I won't name names.

hah. I started out strigiving for mediocre. Then I kind of thought, "hey maybe I can do better than that!" and raised the bar for myself.

But I know exactly what you mean

you can be an amazing super famous author and still be a hermit though, just sayin'

Well that's hardly mediocre, is it? I think of such words as applying to the quality of your product.

As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing mediocre about finding contentment in your personal life.

I'm good with what I have, but I think I'd also be good with lots of money and as much fame as writers generally get. So if you're listening, ye Fates, don't be afraid to pile on the goodies.

Actually, my desired fame level would be to get on NPR -- I'd love to do an hour on On Point or Fresh Air. Or to goof around with Ira Glass on This American Life. Or even to co-star with the Car Guys, where I could testify to the danger of keeping heavy hardcovers on the dashboard.

It is possible to honor your feelings on public appearances and personal exposure AND strive for excellence in your creative endeavors. If you produce an excellent work that the public gobbles up, you can still say "no" to the trappings that go with that kind of success. And if anyone says it will hurt your career, big deal. It won't make your work any less excellent.

I have to do my absolute best at everything.- this goes for writing, working, playing, and life. No exceptions, no excuses.

Just because you don't want to make big money and fly all over the place does not mean you are striving for mediocrity. It simply means you prefer not to be in the limelight. There is not a thing wrong or "mediocre" about that.

Accept yourself for who you are.

The vast majority of authors will never rise above being a mid-lister. So the odds of ending up one of those famous peeps who are flown around on book tours and booked on television interviews is about one-in-two-million. If it's even that high.

Always strive to be the very best you can be.

ChaosTitan said:

Always strive to be the very best you can be.

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You never have to fly all over the world, go on month long book tours, etc. It's a choice. Some writers love it, some hate, some refuse to do it.

At any rate, that's a decision to make when you're asked, not before the opportunity arrives.

If you decide beforehand you 'can't' do something, then you never will.

Could I do the jet-setty things? Yes.

Would I want to? Most probably not.

tinasamuels said:

It frightens me. Not that I think that I'd ever be that good. I don't think I could be. But I have my strengths and I think I know what I can do and I shy away from the things that I can't do.

Gah, I'm in a mood I suppose.

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Here's a blog post by Louise Penny, on writers doing the things they think they cannot do:

http://thelipstickchronicles.typepa...onicles/2010/08/the-things-you-cannot-do.html

Write to the best of your abilities--and better. Good luck.