A Mirror Floating in Water

Ah you sound like you couild be my long lost brother. If you carefully examine my blog entries you'll find I tend to share the failures rather then the triumphs and go too far out of my way to put myself down. Comes of being enormously impressed with myself but way too aware of my sins. Good luck with this--if you are like me you'll be ever so slowly going insane with the contradictions. I hope it helps knowing there are others similar to you. By the way I find you quite intelliegent and informative and generally a joy to read.

Oh, D. Sorry your feeling down in the mouth. Chin up dear you are a very talented young man... You should know that.

Aw. You need cuddles.
Rubles are Russian money? I didn't know that.
Well, you just about described me.
I know someone who said something similar to that. Then they suddenly changed their mind. Try something new, that is what they did.
In their case, cuddles worked.
And icecream.
I wouldn't know about your movies, but your reviews are beyond awesome, your pooems and photography, too.
Sleep on it. Then hug a stuffed toy. Then have icecream.
I might do that...
I feel as though I should compile a list of all the people on litnet who appreciate you, I'm sure you'd be pleased.

Yes, you may speak super-kitteh. You know emotionally, we all go through arcs, andyours at the moment is going down. Partly it's winter, partly it's that swing pendulum thing (don't let it hit you in the head), partly, as Rich said, it's your own contradictory nature. Be kind to yourself. This, too, will pass.

You do write exceptionally well. But we all have to step back and gaze at our work with a gimlet eye occasionally, so as not to be completely self-indulgent. But don't be to hard on yourself.

Daniel -- emotional ups and downs; self-confidence to self-loathing are simply part of the thinking man's life. And you know what I do when these swings take hold: I light up a cheap cigar, find a quiet place, take my pencil and memo pad and write descriptions of the stuff I see. . . .helps to take my mind off me.

Thank you all. It is truly heartwarming to find so many people that care

First, thanks for quoting DFW. Oh, how we will miss his light upon the world!

Secondly, please keep in mind that
low self-esteem and especially depression are unfortunate byproducts of having an introspective psychological makeup.
(See The Comedian's comment above.) Even so, if attempting to
become a writer or an artist carries with it the necessary evils of self-doubt and melancholy, one can't really shake off the creative desire:
cf. the oft-quoted statement "I am
a writer not because I want to be but because I have to be."

And please don't discount or rue a
self-deprecating (my sister calls it
"Self-depreciating") sense of humor.
Humor, Freud tells us, is a "defense
mechanism." I don't buy that. But
stand-up comics often maintain that they would put themselves down BEFORE others got a chance.
Ultimately, being "funny" makes a person charming. Not only that, wouldn't you rather be a little self-deprecating than arrogant?

Writers and artists always, always say that if you write or paint in order to please others, you'll never
please anyone. Write to please yourself.

Listen, it's taken me decades to conclude what I've just stated above. So please hang in there, and
keep writing, okay Daniel?

Fondly,
Auntie

Thanks Aunt, I'll think much about what you said

Btw, the DFW quote is a paraphrase. Here's the real one, "I think, today’s irony ends up saying: 'How totally banal of you to ask what I really mean.'"