Receiving Editor's Notes: Stage U

This week I am discussing the stages of emotion an author may experience upon receiving editing notes on their story. Yesterday we talked about Outrage. Today we talk about stage 3: U - Utter DespairThis is like a super intense pity-party. This is the stage where the author throws up his or her hands and gives in to the belief that he or she is not capable of writing, that he or she should just throw in the towel right now and take up something easy, like being a UN negotiator, a Mountain Rescue Worker, a Guard at Buckingham Palace, or a Brain Surgeon.This stage is accompanied by thoughts such as: "I knew it. I'm worse as a writer than a race horse with a broken canon bone. Someone should put me out of my misery. At least I didn't spend nearly a hundred thousand dollars on a degree in English... oh wait..."There's not much else to be said about this stage. It's sad. Those hurt feelings from the Outrage Stage will rise back up to haunt you, but you accept them as fact instead of getting defensive. You might cry a little. You might go back to stage O for a bit. You might need a piece of cheesecake... or a homemade chocolate chip cookie... or a spoon to eat your favorite ice cream straight out of the container... or all three. At the same time. This is the stage where you will despair of ever being a good writer, of ever having anything good to share with the reading world, of ever being appreciated for all the hard work you've put in, and you will wonder why you're wasting your time on this dream at all.But don't worry, because it's almost over, and if you can get past the first three stages, then you can move on to stage four, which we'll talk about tomorrow!