Why not feel good about what you do?

Writing is a creative process. Impossible to say otherwise. ‘Creative process’ describes the work of writers and other artists who work their magic in platforms built by the need to express — platforms with scope expanded by imagination. Those two words invoke thoughts of passion, pain and outpouring as artists bring whatever is in their mind to a life of its own. Sometimes those thoughts are dragged kicking and screaming into the world for all to experience or to be quietly contemplated in individual delight. We are not always working for entertainment, sometimes it is an intimate celebration.

The results are presented in an infinite variety of forms. You could readily name dozens — hundreds even. Artists create stories, music, songs, paintings, drawings, sketches, sculpture, dance, fashion, food, buildings, cars. I must stop there, or my head will spin with the labelling of media, its construction, and its delivery.

In each field of art, there are people who have already claimed fame and fortune. Rarely easily. Most struggle for years before recognition. Many leave their work, too disillusioned to continue, unable to work on due to life’s circumstances, put off by soul-sapping rejections.

When our work is rejected, it should not be taken as a personal reflection. Maybe it’s just wrong place or wrong time. I like ice cream with nuts in it. Just as with our creations, not everyone partaking of them is an ice cream with nuts fan. Fads, fashion, personal bias can all add up to give a ‘thanks, but no thanks’ verdict. My music tastes are eclectic. There are still some sounds that do not suit. How many times have you walked through an art gallery and wondered what on earth you were looking at with some pieces and yet others you would love to proudly display in your home? I don’t like golf, millions do. You see, we cannot all like the same artistic outputs. If we did, how predictable and bland would creative life be? Creations would be done by recipe to satisfy the known preferences of the recipients. How awful that loss of spontaneity, freedom of thought and dulled expression would be.

Not so, thankfully. Instead, the artistic road is full of challenge, brimming with new discovery, full of joy and satisfaction — and that is what we like about it. It brings pleasure and solace, as well as recognition from our audiences. The frontiers of creation are littered with harsh words and vicious deeds of those who resist, refuse, refute the push for change. Finding the right audience can sometimes be a disheartening maze in which every turn is a torment. You are not alone in this. Many have gone before you and many will follow.

Keep digging for those ‘light bulb’ moments

At other times, your persistence will lead to a breakthrough with acceptance of your work. As emphasis, there are endless examples of successful exhibitions, rapid construction of new technology, rapid-fire life-changing medical treatments, number 1 positions in charts. You watch these flit across your screen, carried by news and social media. How can it be? Do you think they all came to the pinnacle quickly, or have all these folk suffered for their passion as you have sometimes done? Does the media always speak positively in all the passages you read? Does public opinion support everything new. Absolutely not.

Hold on to your dream. Success is there. Sometimes it just seems hard to find.

Our job, then, is not to find who does not appreciate the outputs of our creative process, but who does. Where is the most likely audience? How can you reach them? How can you influence them to read a snippet and then buy your novel?

Even if your manuscript is ahead of its time, you can still find an audience for it. Large volumes of print will tell you how difficult some of our most prominent creators found digging up initial support. The lesson to be learned from these is that persistence is key to long term success as a creative. So, take pleasure in the journey. It’s ending is glorious to experience.

Keep looking. Keep creating. Keep enjoying.

Look forward to catching up soon.

Damon