Tuesday 1 January 2013

On Fear and Empowerment

Remember that time I said I'd update every Monday? Well come to find out, it might be more often than that. For example: this is a special post discussing what it means to be afraid of starting a project. I'm framing the post in terms of writing, but I think my message can be applied to painters or photographers or graphic designers or musicians too.

Creatively, in my opinion, the major thing that holds us back is fear. Lots of potential and burgeoning artists keep themselves from writing because they have come to believe that they cannot or should not practice and hone their craft, or put their work out there. Maybe someone actually told these folks that they're no good, or maybe they have chronic low self-esteem. But regardless of the cause, the only way to get positive feedback is to stop being afraid of negative feedback.

Not that the feedback is or should be the main thing. The main thing, of course, should be writing for the sake of the writer. If you're creating art for your own outlet and happiness, that's what matters. And some people are absolutely fine with never publishing their work; however, the majority of artists (myself included) hope that others will someday appreciate their work.

But putting work out there is scary. Submitting a novel or short story or poem for publication can be a terrifying prospect for most of us beginning artists. (I say "beginning" and not "aspiring" because as far as I'm concerned, as long as you practice your art, even in the utmost obscurity, you're an artist.)

The thing is, though, that the only person with the power to overcome your fear is yourself. And you do have that power: it might take an awful lot of work, but eventually you can get there. The other thing is that you absolutely must listen to that hopeful part of you, the part with the signpost that says "Here there be possibilities," instead of the negative part that says, "You're too stupid to write, you're not talented enough to write." Don't fool yourself: it's not your external critics that are keeping you paralyzed, but your internal ones. You have to moderate that cruel critic if you're ever going to progress. Self-criticism can be helpful, but it can also hold you in chains if you let it grow to excess.

So buy a new notebook, open a new Word document, write the first sentence of that novel, submit that poem for publication in a magazine. And make daring resolutions, not just on the 1st of January but every day of your life, to be the best and most fearless writer you can be.

2 comments:

  1. Katherine, thanks for stopping by Changes of Man and commenting on my post "On Creativity" the other day, and sharing this post with me. It resonates with what I'm going through right now, even though I'm not even considering marketing anything. Just starting is scary enough.

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    1. I know it's terrifying - I've been there - but just keep telling yourself that the only way to get something done is by being positive about it!

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