I’m not someone who is comfortable bragging about themselves. I think it’s due to being an introvert at heart. I can get up in front of a crowded room to speak, I can mix and mingle at parties, and I can be active on social media. But at the end of the day, I’m far more comfortable within the confines of my house with my dogs, my partner, and a glass of wine.

Unfortunately, being an independent writer means I have to don my extrovert costume and try to draw attention to my creative output. It’s one of those things that isn’t terrible to deal with. Interacting with readers and other writers can be inspiring and motivating. But at the same time, I do find it awkward and uncomfortable.

I’m sure other creative types feel the same way. Artists tend to be introverts. We work in solitude, alone, just us and our medium – pen and paper, paint and canvas, camera and film – but at the same time we also have a need for our work to be seen. I’m not sure if it that’s due to self-esteem or just a need to be noticed.

For me, I have this need to express myself, my ideas. And yes, I feel a sense of satisfaction when someone – especially a stranger – reads or hears or sees something I’ve created and enjoys it. To have someone tell me they read one of my stories and liked it is just about the best feeling in the world. I’m not expecting to change the world. All I want to do is give someone an escape, a distraction, and a little entertainment.

But to do so, I have to get noticed. That’s the tough part. I’m not comfortable standing on a chair in the middle of a crowded room and yelling “Look at me!”. Ugh. I’d much rather pass out copies of a story and quietly walk away. However, it doesn’t work that way. People like to see a face, a name, to interact.

In a way, I guess I’m lucky because I have access to things that allow me to market myself. Twenty to twenty-five years ago there wasn’t much in the way of self-marketing. E-books weren’t much of a thing yet. Social media was relegated to bulletin boards and message boards. There wasn’t a Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. I still submitted my short stories through the U.S. Postal Service. It was a different time.

Now I have several social media accounts I manage where I post updates about myself and my creative projects. I interact with people from around the world, exchanging ideas and suggestions, buying copies of their books to support them, and hoping they’ll return the favor.

Self-marketing is an interesting game. On the one hand it’s awkward and time consuming, but on the other hand it has its perks. I get to talk about my creative process, share my output, and get feedback from complete strangers on the other side of the planet. That’s amazing.

I guess we all have to step outside our comfort zones every now and then. Sure, it can be difficult, but it does have rewards. That’s what I need to focus on and be grateful that I get to meet and interact with other artists. I’m lucky to have that opportunity.

RB

I’m not a person who like to do much planning when it comes to creative projects. I’m what some writers like to call a “pantser”, meaning, I work by the seat of my pants. Oddly enough, I like to have well-thought plans for other aspects of my life – just a bit of OCD happening here – but when it comes to writing or cooking or music, prefer to create on the fly.

I know this will make some people twitchy and I understand that. Some writers, for example, prefer to outline their stories, create character sketches, plot the story arcs. I think that’s great. More power to them. I understand how having the structure in place beforehand can help them string the story together. Makes sense. 

But planning ahead makes it harder for me to tell a story. If everything is mapped out ahead of time, then I feel stifled. It’s like the difference between painting on a blank canvas or using a paint-by-numbers kit. One option allows me to flex my creative muscles, to explore and experiment, and if something changes, I can go off in another direction without hesitation. The other option makes me feel locked in, that I have to follow the designated path without deviation. 

A great example is a short story I’ve been trying to write for the past six weeks. It’s based on an actual event, but with a creative twist. In other words, I’m using the basic premise but changing the players and some of the facts. I’ve had the story in my head for a few years now and I finally decided to write it so I can include it in an upcoming short story collection I plan to publish. 

Initially, I had some trouble getting started. I wasn’t sure how to kick things off, which is usually where I have the most trouble with a story. If the foundation isn’t laid correctly, the entire structure can fall apart. So I thought I’d try working with an outline. I wrote a fairly detailed six-page outline with each paragraph describing what would happen in each section. “Finally,” I thought to myself, “I can get this party started.”

Yeah. Not so much.

I tried writing the opening scene three times, and each time I felt that it turned out like crap. Too bland. Too generic. Too sterile. I was forcing the story to be told, instead of allowing the story to tell itself. Over three thousand words discarded.

A few days ago I tossed the outline aside, sat down at my laptop, and just started winging it. Guess what? It worked. I wrote one thousand words (give or take a handful) in about thirty minutes. Now the story is easier to write because I’m not thinking about it. I’m letting my protagonist and the narrative decide where to go next. 

“Pantsing” is an organic way to write, at least for me. I would never claim that one way is right and another wrong, or that one way is better than another. That’s up to each individual author. I had to try different ways to tell a story before I found what worked best for me. 

When I find myself giving advice to other writers, I always tell them they have to try different things in order to develop their own style. A lack of planning works for me on most of my stories, but there may come a time when I find I need to outline something and I won’t hesitate to try it. I remain open-minded when it comes to creativity. I feel that artists have to be. Otherwise, how can we grow and improve?

Whenever you feel stuck on a creative project, don’t continue to try doing things the same way every time. Step back, reassess your methods, and maybe you’ll find that trying something outside of your usual routine will do the trick. 

That’s the thing about creativity. The rules are made to be broken. 

RB

I’m not sure if other artists do this, but I like to set a mood for writing. What I mean is, I prefer to have a certain type of environment around me when I write certain things. It doesn’t always work out the way I’d like it to, but I try.

For example, when I’m writing something light – a blog post, social media tweets or ‘grams – I like it to be bright and sunny. I generally want my writing for these areas to be light and fun, encouraging, motivational, so bright and sunny helps to get my head in the right place.

Then there’s fiction. I tend to lean to darker stories, obviously, and so I like to write my horror, sci-fi, and speculative stuff at night or early in the morning when the house is quiet and it’s dark and moody. I also like to write somber fiction when it’s raining. A heavy downpour is fantastic, but even a gray drizzle will set the right mood for me.

A few years back my partner and I were able to take annual trips to South Florida and stay at a nice little hotel right on the beach. I’d get up every morning with the sunrise, have a cup of tea or coffee, and write in my journal. It was incredibly motivating to write out my personal thoughts and ideas in that setting. Mornings on the beach can’t be beat.

But the funny thing is, I planned to work on my of my short stories during out week-long vacation, but I couldn’t get anywhere with it. Why? Because the environment was too damn pleasant. Salt air, the sound of the waves, the bright blue sky and warm sun…it’s not conducive to a dark story about fear and blood. Lesson learned.

It wasn’t until I got back home – on a rainy evening – that I felt the right mood to tackle this particular story. And at home is where I finished it during a couple of cold, rainy winter nights.

Like I mentioned above, I can’t always predict or force the environment to be what I’d like it to be when I write. That would be too easy, wouldn’t it? But I make do. I try to take advantage of those rainy days when they occur. I try to squeeze in a few late nights every week. I get up early and greet the dark morning with a warm cup of something and a brain still half in bed. It’s not perfect, it’s not necessarily ideal, but I make it work.

I’m curious if other artists feel the same way. Leave a comment and let me know.

RB