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| Notice the guy in blue plaid. |
Go ahead. Give yourself fifteen seconds of
despair. We’re creatures of expression,
after all.
I once read an article that said the
mental health of writers isn’t great. We
spend a lot of time by ourselves creating fantasies, without the intermittent positive response or even a pay cheque to keep us going. We have to ignore the constant rejection,
improve our craft without losing our voice, yet still be able to hear the truth
about our work. It takes a particularly
fine sorting skill to achieve all that.
Apparently the difference between us and
other artistic media is that in addition to the isolated nature of the work, we don’t have a
tangible product unless we’re published.
No song to hum to ourselves. No
still life to hang on the wall. Just a
ream of paper tucked in a cupboard or a file on our desktop. We have to believe in the intangible while
living in a materialistic society. What
do you suppose the end result of that’s going to be? It doesn’t take a mental health professional
to see creature-of-expression plus no-audience equals spread-eagled-wailing.
Big deal, eh? Every life has sorrow built into it. That’s a fact, right? Well I say, anyone who believes that life
only gives what we can handle, that person isn’t really paying attention. Sometimes life punches back too hard and
changes who you are. Sometimes that change
isn’t for the better. Sometimes it
damages you in ways you’ll never recover from.
That’s not something any of us want to have happen.
Happiness isn’t a passive activity. When you see the laser dot of ego destruction
on your chest, get to work. The first
and easiest thing is to ‘reframe’. In
other words, don’t let your mind downslide into negative thought. Your friend getting shortlisted or winning
that award? Not about you. The inability for someone to spell your name
right when they’re crushing your dreams?
That’s about them. Don’t
interpret the world as out to get you.
At the most, the world outside of our immediate circle is indifferent to
us.
When you do get knocked down, promise
yourself to get back up again.
Eventually. In due time. When the wailing is done. Keep this promise to yourself. Do Not Give Up.
Check out your social environment. Do the people closest to you support your
writing or do they invade your writing time, not show up to readings, ‘inadvertently’
shred your latest collection of poems?
Do you meet with other writers? Do
you attend literary events in your community?
Do other writers know you in the flesh or only on Twitter and
Facebook? If your social environment is
failing you, rethink it. You are doing
one of the most challenging things in the arts world. Social science confirms this. You cannot do it if you don’t have a warm and
loving nest.
Now comes the hard part. Know in the depths of your marrow that you
have the right to be here. You have the
right to express yourself. You deserve
to be heard. You contribute something to
this world that no other person, writer or non-writer, contributes. You are your contribution and this is the
only time you have to offer it. Right
here. Right now.
Okay, so now watch this Sara Bareilles music
video, Brave. While you’re watching it, pay attention to
the guy in the blue plaid shirt. That’s
what you’re striving for. An unreserved
commitment to enjoying your own expression.
Show me your brave.
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