So, I mentioned yesterday that I took a staff position at Writer’s Beat. And I didn’t really go into detail about the job description, because at the time it wasn’t really at the forefront of my mind. What has changed? Nothing, actually. Except that I’m staring at seven or eight new poems on the forums, and oh god, THE EFFORT.

Staff members have to critique people’s work. I mean, we don’t have to critique all of it, obviously. That would be impossible, on a daily basis. However, we are expected to regularly critique new work. And so today, it hits me: this is a job. This staffing gig isn’t just something I do, it’s a job, and it’s a lot of work.

Don’t think I wasn’t taking it seriously, because I was. I spent HOURS judging and then scoring the competition entries, worrying about every point I gave or took away. Likewise, I was worried about reacting to people, worried about posting even, stressing about how I was representing the forums now, just WORRYING.

Now I’m done with the worrying, and I’m looking at all of the new posts just begging for my attention, and it is bad. Critiquing is hard, particularly for fiction; it takes time, and concentration. I love helping people, but when I’m trying to write my own stuff, the last thing I want to do is read other people’s work.

That’s why I’ve only written 88 words so far. *nods* Uh huh.