Don’t Give Up on Your Creativity
What excites us and that we want to create as artists is our defining trait, the unique thing that only our voice can express. What we want to create sometimes can be at odds with what others want us to create or what we feel we ought to create. I want to urge you to follow your gut.
Creating of any kind, whether it is a book or a new car engine, requires tenacity, endurance, and – even in car engines – a sense of artistry. You are, by nature, distinctly different from others in nearly all aspects psychologically. No one shares your exact perspectives, experiences, biases, etc. A story only requires a plot line that moves and characters that are three (or even more) dimensional. That’s the commonality. The rest of everything is unique to you unless you want to disregard yourself and write for others or, as mentioned, write as you think you ought to write rather than writing in your unique voice, which does include all the things mentioned, including your unique perspectives, experiences, and biases.
So often, when we create, we fear our voice. We want to quit, but we must push ourselves through with discipline alone and continue until completion. We want to criticize ourselves because we are breaking new ground, but the new ground will be personally the most fulfilling and profitable to our careers. If you veer from the pack, which I hope you do and is natural for you to do, purposely, deliberately, and courageously seek your voice, trust your instincts, and write something you genuinely want to read, not what you think you ought to write.
Your career and your success depend upon this experimental mindset that you are creatively exploring. No one needs another [insert famous author]. Instead, they need you. We already have [insert famous author]. We need you to fill the void only you can fill. At times, our future feels in doubt. At times, we even ask ourselves if we genuinely want to continue. This is where discipline and courage converge and give you what you need as you set goals for the story you want to write. Write on. Don’t let the sense of who you are as an individual and a writer die unpublished and unshared.
Don’t let who you unmistakably are go unnoticed and unrecognized. Remember what you want to express, the things only you can say, and the ideas driving you. These are coming from within. Our job as creative people is to let those inspirations, ideas, and elements bubble up. Never lose sight of your individuality, your goals, and the gift of unique creativity that you’ve been given to get there. In the end, only you can share this with us. If you don’t, it is lost. There is not a single person on earth – now or ever – who can replicate it.
Like this blog? Sign up for Clay’s newsletter, which offers encouragement, skills, resources, and knowledge relating to a balanced life while writing, marketing, promoting, and living. https://claystafford.com/newsletter
