I was being too coy with my question yesterday, which only shows you my level of fear.
The truth is that no matter if you have had success before, every new project is unlike anything done before, and the artist is alone with it. Me. I'm alone with it.
And not only is the problem the work of art being created but the kinds of expectations that surround it. I find I have to separate the expectations from the work itself, or I freeze up.
So if I'm not willing to be more forthcoming, I need to drop this subject.
On a lighter note, yesterday, I went back to my haircutter of twenty-seven years ago--She lives in Provo and I got exactly what I needed. How many times can you say, my hair looks perfect. THIS is the way I want to look. Besides Laura makes me laugh and her daughters come in and sit around telling me I'm adorable. I don't think it's possible to have a better haircutting experience than that.
Tom is putting out the most amazing work and the funny thing is he has no idea how he gets there. It's a surprise to him every time. It's a lovely gift of the spirit in his retirement.
All things are possible.
"Blog lurker" is such an ugly title, but it's mine. I've been following your writings for a bit but have never had the courage to comment. Until now. This line spoke to me: "And not only is the problem the work of art being created but the kinds of expectations that surround it. I find I have to separate the expectations from the work itself, or I freeze up." I've been staring at a writing project with huge expectations for a year now, and I'm both scared out of my pants and frozen up. I was so relieved to hear that gifted writers such as you feel this, too. Whew! But I have a feeling that you'll move confidently forward, and I'll remain a knock-kneed scardey pants.
ReplyDeleteI love your words. Thanks for letting me lurk. :)
No. I really am as scared as you. Really. You're not lurking. Blogs are meant to be read. I'm glad you come by.
ReplyDeleteI don't especially like these kinds of questions/conversations, because I'm going along thinking everything is fine in my fantasy-addled brain, and then I read the comments and think to myself, yeah, I'm delusional. I guess it's too much of a reality check for me. I've been writing for a LONG time and I've had people tell me I'm good. However, the stack of rejection letters continues to get deeper. So I guess the bigger fear is that I'll never get published and my grandchildren will rifle through my notebooks when I'm dead and wonder how I wasn't committed.
ReplyDeleteI having been fighting these same feeling for a long while and they've kept me from moving forward, I'm an artist not a writer but I think that fear keeps us in the same place. My new plan ,thanks to all your comments and to the ones on Tom's blog, is to just have fun. Create for the purpose that it gives ME joy. I don't really have any delusions about "making it or becoming well-known" but I would like to get my art out there. My other goal is to get into the studio and "just do it".
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