As a creative person and one who’s plagued by existential questions, I get trapped into that circle of thinking if what I’m doing matters.
Am I just wasting my time and energy torturing nice people with my substandard prose?
I work with writers and for writers (and this applies to all creative people), and I think we all have that dream of becoming famous (even if you say you don’t, you wouldn’t mind it, would you?).
We all have that hope of changing the world with our work.
We want to be praised and validated.
We want to communicate on a deeper level.
We want to be admired, at least just a little bit, and be able to say “I told you so” to all the haters.
Most of all, we want to leave a legacy after our death.
But our dreams deflate each time we see the sheer numbers of other people who have the same exact dream as we do and are pursuing it more efficiently and more fervently.
They write better, market better, sell better.
We see other artists kicking ass out there, and we wonder how in the world they do it.
Maybe we don’t have the resources, the time, or the energy.
Maybe we don’t have the savvy or the persistence. Maybe we’re suffering from imposter syndrome.
It’s easy to get caught up in the race to the bestsellers list, but let me wrap my arm around your shoulders and guide you into my existential realm here.
Although contemplating our place in the ginormous, black Universe can make us feel insignificant and pointless at times, this simultaneously it frees us from our anguish.
Look at it this way…
You only have one life (as far as we know). If there is anything noble about it, it’s living in the pursuit of creating and appreciating beauty in all its forms. It’s one of the only redeeming qualities of our species.
Your one life is very short. You could spend it watching Netflix. Or you could live a life of passion and do what makes your soul sing.
You have to be yourself. If there’s one thing I learned about being happy in this life, it’s being true to who you are. If you only behave and do what you think you’re supposed to do instead of what you really want to do, you will be a miserable person. Guaranteed.
Your audience doesn’t matter all that much. Human beings are a very small, messy, and crude part of the universe. Having their mass approval is not necessarily anything special. There is much of existence beyond our little blue sphere that might marvel at your work if they ever got to experience it.
Creativity is a gift.In making something out of nothing, we can be the gods of our own little universes.
I hope you all found this comforting.
Happy Monday and Happy Creating!
–Christa
Do you ever wonder if what you’re creating matters?
How do you think your work fits into the Universe?
I’ve worked with many first-time self-published authors andall the writers I’ve met, I mean ALL, have stars in their eyes when they get ready to publish their first book.
Everyone has that feeling when they’ve created something special. Creativity is a divine force and we feel it’s destiny. The world has been waiting this book!
We imagine uploading our copy to Amazon and waking up in the morning with 10,000 downloads.
The truth is that, unless we have a large author platform and at least some basic PR skills, no one will even know we have a book out.
If we don’t know how to SEO our book for Amazon’s search engines, the likelihood of anyone stumbling across it are slim.
Do we have an eye-catching book cover?
Did we hire a professional editor?
Or did we just slap up our final draft and expect people to ignore any flaws because it’s The Book of Destiny?
I think every writer must to go through this.
It’s part of the process, and we have to try because, let’s face it, some writers do become overnight successes.
You can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy the ticket.
Still, I try to prepare my new author clients for the difficult road ahead. Even if your book is good, even if it’s extraordinary, you have to compete with the hundreds of thousands of other authors who have the exact same dream.
This is hard to explain to the first-time author. In my experience, they completely filter out my warnings and march ahead with a huge smile, ready for the confetti to fall and the champagne to pop.
At this point, I just wait and let them go through it. Once they realize it’s not likely they’ll become famous overnight, then they’re all ears and we can get to work.
So go ahead, choose your dream cast for the movie, visualize what you’re going to wear on Good Morning America, and practice your autograph.
Enjoy it.
Never stop dreaming about it.
Don’t give up!
Just keep in mind that it may not happen with your first book. Years later, you’ll probably be thankful it wasn’t your first book (I know that I don’t want the stuff I wrote years ago to ever surface).
Just trust that each challenge is a stepping-stone on your journey to becoming the writer you were meant to be.
One of my favorite books about art is Of Human Bondage by William Somerset Maugham. It’s an amazing novel that will resonate with writers on multiple levels.
My copy is dog-eared and slathered in orange highlighter. There were so many “Yes!” moments for me in the story watching the main character, Philip, explore what it means to be an artist—not only of writing or painting, but an artist of his own life.
Where do you mine for your writing?
For authenticity?
For beauty?
For originality?
What do you use to create those stories that slap people in the face?
This quote, spoken by Philip’s friend Clutton, is a perfect example.
“Oh, my dear fellow, if you want to be a gentleman you must give up being an artist. They’ve got nothing to do with one another. You hear of men painting pot-boilers to keep an aged mother – well it shows they’re excellent sons, but it’s no excuse for bad work. They’re only tradesmen. An artist would let his mother go to the workhouse. There’s a writer I know over here who told me that his wife died in childbirth. He was in love with her and he was mad with grief, but as he sat at the bedside watching her die he found himself making mental notes of how she looked and what she said and the things he was feeling. Gentlemanly, isn’t it?”
Of Human bondage
I think every writer develops the capacity to objectify people, events, and emotions.
We have to distance ourselves from them so that we can examine them – whether they are tragic, vulgar, absurd, joyful, wrathful – and render them in their truest light according to our perspective (or that of our characters).
The more I write, the more skilled I become at this distancing.
It’s kind of creepy.
Does this make artists predatory, opportunistic sociopaths?
Weeelll …
I admit, I do sometimes pursue misadventures in the same way the proverbial lawyer chases an ambulance, but I do it as a means to greater understanding and depth of experience.
For me it’s a form of delirious homage to all the mysteries, horrors, and delights of existence.
It allows me to ignore my ego’s emotional investment in a situation so that I can look at it simply as it is, and not what I believe it is or should be. (Let’s hope I’m not outing myself on some personality disorder here.)
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Have at it!
I live in the Chiriquí highlands, a land of eternal spring that bursts with flowers all year long. I try to make sure I crawl out of my writing/working cave for a few minutes a day to appreciate the flowers.
Not only is it soothing to get away from the glowing screens of my electronics, but I feel it’s a shame to ignore them as the buds strain upward to bloom as brightly as they can. I know that all too quickly they will wilt and die. Someone should be there to watch their performance.
On hikes through the cloud forest, I often notice a lone, exotic flower in the mist. It waits there in silence, sparkling with dew, and trembles in the breeze like it’s excited to see me.
I think of how easily I might not have been in that spot at that moment to witness it in its pinnacle of existence. What a pity for those countless hidden beauties who go through the trouble of making a such a performance only to be missed!
But I realize that whether I was there or not, the flower would’ve opened in the darkness of the jungle anyway. It would have raised its petals to the moon and folded back into itself again, a marvel never to be seen.
I think of artists like flowers – painters, dancers, singers, and writers. We are designed to bloom and can’t help ourselves from doing so. It doesn’t matter if anyone is there to witness it or appreciate it. It doesn’t matter if it’s practical or not. It’s what we were made to do, and we must do it or we’ll be miserable.
We may get trampled on or devoured by insects.
We may be clipped short and put in a vase to be put on a brief display for others, then shrivel before our time.
We may be watered and nurtured so that we thrive and mature to our fullest potential, blooming season after season, becoming an attraction for bees and butterflies and hummingbirds.
On the other hand, we may never be noticed or acknowledged by a single soul.
We might throw all our energies, passions, and resources into becoming the most spectacular blossom, only to crumple back into the ground without attracting the slightest notice.
The point is this. Don’t write to be seen. Write to become yourself.
No matter what, we must break from the soil, unfurl with determination, and reach for the sun.
As flowers bloom, so we must write. We must write. We must write!
So go write!
What are your goals as a writer?
Would you still write if you knew no one would ever read it?
Every writer needs to develop a digital platform. Even if you haven’t been published yet, the time to start building a following is yesterday. Growing an audience takes time. Don’t put it off any longer!
To start, you will need:
1. A website with a blog – this is the hub of your platform where you will post your bio, books, news, and contact information. It’s also where you should start blogging on a consistent basis to attract your very own special type of reader.
2. A lead magnet – this is a free download in exchange for an email address. You can offer a short story, an excerpt, or a free book. Share this offer regularly on social media. Create a form or pop-up for visitors to download it from your site.
3. An email list – your lead magnet will grow your email list. Use this list to send an occasional newsletter to your readers. Send them news, personal stories, and more of your writing. Keep them updated on your newest publications.
4. A few select social profiles – As a writer, you do need to be on social media, but don’t spread yourself too thin. Learn how to use a few networks very well. I recommend writers start with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. YouTube and Pinterest are also good spots for writers.
