On vessels for creation and the process not the product.
Lifting the veil on a writing life #11
(I say wide margins in this audio, when I actually mean narrow.)
Being more vocal about my process is pretty uncomfortable for me.
It’s vulnerable. Even when I was at school doing an art project, I would shroud it in mystery. I wouldn’t even tell my teacher; it meant if something went wrong, no one would know. It also meant I wasn’t asking for help and my journey was a mystery, so no one knew what to praise.
I’ve come to realise part of doing this Lifting The Veil series, is helping me confront the horrors of being seen WITHOUT having something incredible to show.
It’s easy to be seen when you’ve got something to show off.
I’m here doing the thing most days but there’s no shiny new book cover, no quotes from reader reviews.
It feels awkward and that’s why I had a wobble last week.
Too often, creatives obsess over the end goal.
We become too focused on a specific outcome. The book deal, the exhibition, the likes, the prize, and the external positive feedback.
I want to respect my growth stage. But I need help, support, and cheering on.
What I’m doing by creating Lifting The Veil is creating an opportunity to be seen and celebrated, and that recognition becomes fertiliser, helping me continue to create.
I’m letting people know what I want to happen and what I’m building towards.
The process is its own reward. The end product doesn’t hold all the value.
This is a chance to reevaluate my ideas about success and progress, and maybe yours too. It’s a reminder that we should not postpone joy and to share that thing that isn’t quite ready yet.
So feel free… I savour compliments and really lap them up, like a cat. And with that in mind, here is my Bill.
Have a great week and feel free to share that thing you are working on in the comments. I’d love to cheer you on.
This post moved me.
I've been writing for over 35 years now and I'm still waylaid when I come to that barrier that separates the writer's inner sanctum from the world outside (the public, the readers).
My insight, which might have nothing to do with your process, but I'll share it anyway -- the more these rituals, as you're engaged with, are practiced, the easier it comes to move beyond them and settle into your sovereignty as a writer; not so much doubt-free, but firmly cognizant of the memory that you know you've written before and all went well, and you will continue on. What choice do you have otherwise?
Hemingway had to do this with himself constantly: remind himself that he could 'do it' and was manic about no one seeing anything he'd written until he'd hammered on it to comply with his notion of perfection (Cancer's have this problem *big time* more so than Virgos -- I oughta know as I am one 😂) One would think the opposite with Ernest, given his machismo and bluster.
But we're always beginning and with that comes that vulnerable condition you write about. Brava!
I love this!!! As creatives we can definitely get stuck in the end goal and fall into the frustration rut. So how can we embrace the messy confusing middle bits? How can we enjoy the process? Perhaps by sharing them. And opening up about the frustrations. Also, I don't know if you follow the lunar phases but this piece makes me think of the Capricorn Full Moon we had at the beginning of this week. ❤️❤️❤️