I love my own writing.

No, seriously. I LOVE it. When I’m editing my own work, there are times I get excited to get to a certain point, or to read a certain phrase. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made myself laugh.

Is that arrogance? It can go that way, certainly, but it’s also the healthiest thing in the world. After all, if you don’t like what you’re making, why should anyone else?

Do you think the guys at Apple said, “A device that carries hundreds of CDs in your pocket? Ugh, fine, I’ll make one.”? Do you think Ford looked at plans for his first Model T and said, “What a stupid idea.”? Do you think Stephen King went around saying, “Yeah, my new book is crap.”?

Of course not. Creators and inventors make what they do because they think it’s a sublime idea. True, we all make duds and mistakes, and some of us do pump out garbage for a paycheck, but left to our own devices, we all make things because we love the very idea of them.

I’m getting some feedback from Ferryman, and you know what? People like it! And when I first wrote Rise (second edition pending), my best friend’s family kept begging me for more. Why? Because I loved it first. I created those stories because I loved them and believed in them. If I hadn’t, the hated and boredom would have shown.

What do you create?

Books? Music? Youtube videos? Crafts? Paintings? Reviews? Apps? Hairdos? Car parts? Dance choreography? Cakes and sweets? Gourmet dinners? Houses? Anything this world doesn’t have right now that it badly needs?

Don’t be ashamed to love it. Don’t be afraid of being your first fan. If what you’re creating doesn’t make you want to geek out, why are you even creating it? 

Have fun. Enjoy your work, enjoy seeing it come to life, and enjoy the final products. You’ll certainly make changes along the way, and you could likely fail terribly in the end. But you can learn from those experiences to improve the next thing you make.

So be a fan of your own work. Dale Carnegie, in chapter three of his famous book, How to Make Friends and Influence People, said that the way to get people to buy what you’re selling is to make them interested. The best way to do that? Be interested yourself.

What is it you make? What ideas do you have? Scroll down to the comments and tell me why you want to make this, why you love it so much, and why you think others need to have/experience it, too. Art, invention, innovation, tell me everything. Make me fan number two.