One of the drawbacks to being creative is dealing with disappointment. It can be awful when one of your projects doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to, or when people don’t like it, or things just fall apart. I’ve had stories that I simply couldn’t make work. I’ve had stories that never made it past the first draft. I’ve had people tell me something I’d written sucked and I should find something else to do with my time.

All real things that I’ve dealt with. And yes, it can be a blow to the ol’ self-esteem and self-confidence. I think it can be especially hard for creative people who may be immature or new to the game, who aren’t experienced enough to handle these let downs.

I used to let these things get to me. They’d get under my skin, inside my head, and fester. It was like having an infection of negativity. It was unpleasant and on several occasions almost got me to give up on creativity altogether. I figured, screw it. I’ll spend all my time playing games on my PC and reading comic books.

Eventually, however, I realized that I didn’t need to let these thing get in my head and live there rent-free. Art, like humor, is subjective. What one person likes may not appeal to another. For example, some people love Monty Python (myself included), but others find it stupid and nonsensical. No one here is right or wrong, it’s just personal taste, personal opinions. And just because one person does or doesn’t like something doesn’t mean that everyone else should hate or love it. Again, it’s up to the individuals.

To me, people who create have to have the right attitude when it comes to their art. That being, don’t worry about what other people think. Don’t worry about it if a project blows up in your face. Don’t get upset when the project doesn’t turn out as good as you hoped it would.

Why? Because it doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that you can start over. You can clean up the mess and begin again. You can show your work to someone else who may love it. Or at least like it.

The bottom line is that YOU need to be happy with what you’re doing. Are you writing a story that you’re in love with? Fantastic! Are you painting a picture or illustrating a story and it’s all coming together? Awesome! Did you write a song that you can’t stop humming and singing? Excellent!

You see, creativity is all about self-expression. I know I repeat this quite often, but it’s true. It’s about you, what you have to say or express or convey. We create not only because we have a need to, but also because it makes us happy. That’s all that really matters here. And in order to be happy we have to have a selfish attitude when it comes to our art. As long as what you’ve done works for you, then it’s a success.

And those projects that don’t work out? Well, so what? Start over. Try again. Come at it from a different angle. That’s one of the great things about creating, you can do whatever you want, as many times as you want, until you get it right. Or at least as close to right as it can be.

Don’t worry about an audience, about who may like it or who may hate it. Don’t worry about making money off it or becoming famous. It’s all about the creative process and making yourself happy.

Be sure to do something creative today. Not because you have to, but because you want to.

RB

One of the issues many creative individuals deal with is wondering who cares about their work. That’s understandable. For many, a lack of recognition is troublesome. It kills motivation and inspiration. It leave them wondering if they should continue on. I mean, what’s the point if no one is ever going to see it?

I get it. I’ve been there myself. I worked in a bubble for years, never showing anyone my writing, the things I drew, the music I’d written. I think most of us have been in that situation. The lonely artist.

The problem, I think, is twofold.

First, we don’t give ourselves enough credit. It’s easy to think we aren’t any good at what we’re doing. We’re amateurs. We’re just fumbling about trying to make magic happen. The thing is, what we don’t realize is that there are people out there who would enjoy our work if we’d only share it. I think we can get caught up in thinking we have to be an overnight success. We think we should be able to, say, publish a novel and it’s a bestseller. But because we have a low opinion of our abilities we don’t try, so we’ll never know.

We have to realize that it’s extremely rare for anyone to be an instant success. Many writers and artists struggled for years in obscurity. If you disagree, I’d like to point to Vincent Van Gogh as Exhibit A. In about a ten year period, Van Gogh created over 2,100 pieces of art. And you know what, during his lifetime he was a commercial failure, was mostly unknown, and died in poverty. He’s now considered one of the greatest artists to have ever lived.

So yeah, you may not become an overnight success, but your art still matters. And you never know, someday it may be worth millions.

The second part of the problem is that we tend to worry about an audience. Will people like this? Will they hate it? Will they care?

My question to you is, why does it matter?

If you’ve listened to my creativity podcast or read things I’ve posted here on my blog or on social media, you know that I’m a proponent of “Creative for yourself.” What does this mean? It means don’t worry about an audience, about who might read this, look at this, like this, hate this. It doesn’t matter. Really. I promise.

What does matter is you and your opinion. Are you writing a story that you would want to read? Then you’re on the right track. If you’re writing a story that you hope other people will like, then you’re going about it the wrong way.

You have to be happy with what you’re creating. You have to be proud of it, passionate about it. You can’t do that with something you’re doing because you think that’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s fake art, fake creativity. Like paintings in hotel rooms. Sure, someone created it, but they didn’t create it because it was something they wanted to see. They did it because someone paid them to paint a pleasing and non-offensive landscape. Something generic.

You have to be the master of our creativity. Once you begin to do that, you’ll realize that what really matters is if you care about what you’re doing. That’s what it comes down to.

When you have one of those days where you wonder why you even bother to be creative, remember that you’re doing it because it makes you happy to create things you love. It’s all about you. And yes, when it comes to creativity it’s okay to be a little selfish.

RB

Every once in a while I sit back and consider my writing career. It’s hasn’t been illustrious, but it’s been fun. I’ve written hundreds of thousands of words, both fiction and non-fiction, and I have more ideas than I know what to do with. Nowadays, I focus solely on fiction. I love being able to imagine all sorts of weird and wonderful scenarios and put them on the page. But there’s one thing I keep asking myself: What is my job as a writer?

First and foremost, I think my job is to entertain. That’s true of all forms of art – movies, television, music, books, painting, sculpture, photography. The point is to entertain your audience, to distract them from reality for just a bit. I know many people who come home from work at the end of the day, fix something to eat, then plop down in front of the television for a few hours and get lost in a story. Some of them get lost in books, or looking at art galleries online, or put on headphones and get carried away by music.

This type of entertainment is akin to therapy. So, in effect, entertaining people is providing them with therapy. Maybe it’s stress relief or a distraction from the bad things in their lives. It’s like providing a mental health service. At least, I like to think so.

But that’s not my only job as a writer. I also think I’m charged with helping my readers to think differently, to see things from another angle. I’m not necessarily saying that it has to be ethical or moralistic, although I do try to slip that into my stories on occasion. In some cases it might be helping them to see the other side of an argument, or maybe seeing things from someone else’s perspective. I feel that most people, myself included, can get so wrapped up in their lives that they end up in a bubble, seeing only themselves and focusing only on their own wants and needs. Sometimes it’s healthy to pop the bubble and see through another person’s eyes.

I know that writing from another perspective has made me question my own opinions and suppositions. For example, I’ve written stories from a female perspective. It’s not intentional. I mean, I write based on what’s called for by the story. If the story needs a female protagonist, then that’s the voice I try to capture. But writing this way, seeing through a woman’s eyes, has made me see some of my own gender’s shortcomings. It helps that I have women in my life that I can use as resources. They read my drafts and let me know if I’m getting the essence right or if I’m way off base. I think it’s an educational experience and I hope my readers feel the same way.

Another example is my short story, “Sunwalker”. The protagonist is a Native American. Now I unfortunately don’t have any Native American people in my life at the moment, but I’ve known a few over the years and I’ve read a fair amount of their history here in the U.S., so I tried to convey what I felt would be the experience of the last Native American in the world. The thing is, it was a tough story to write because I had to imagine myself in this man’s situation. He’s the last Native American in the world, his people have all died off. Now he’s receiving special treatment from the government, something his people never got to experience, and he doesn’t like it. He’s dealing with guilt, depression, and a need for something more.

Even though I’m well aware of the terrible things Native Americans have gone through over the past few centuries, writing this story made it more personal for me and it ended up being a difficult story to write on an emotional level. The feedback I’ve received on the story has been mostly positive. My readers were entertained. But honestly, I hope the story was more than that, that it helped them to see the world from the eyes of my protagonist, what he and his people had to deal with, what they had to overcome.

When it comes down to it, my job description can have sub-entries of “entertainer” and “influencer”. I’d be happy with that.

RB

I thought about starting this post by stating that I wanted to write a post about staying motivated, but I didn’t feel like it. That’s it, short and sweet and arguably humorous. But then I realized that it wouldn’t be motivating and probably not as funny as I thought, so here we go…

If you’re like the millions of people around the globe who are stuck at home during this CoronaVirus thing, then you’re probably running out of steam when it comes to doing things. Being stuck in the house is usually fun for a couple of days, maybe a week, but after that you begin to feel trapped. Everything looks the same day after day. You’re not getting any input from face-to-face human interaction. You’re tired and restless and in need of something you can’t quite put your finger on…

I get it. I’m right there with you. But you can work through it. Here are a few things I’ve been doing to stay motivated at home.

First, exercise. Yeah, I know, you don’t feel like it. But you don’t have to go to a gym or have weights and machines and all that crap to work out. There are hundreds of YouTube videos out there that can get you started with basic stretching and yoga. Those are always good to start with. Believe me, basic stretching can make a positive difference in how you feel both physically and mentally.

At far as actually body-changing exercise, again, you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. I don’t have any of that so I do body weight exercises. If you can’t find a YouTube video you like, then check out some of the exercise apps. Personally, I use FitBod (and no, I’m not getting anything to endorse them). It takes a few minutes to set up, but you can set it for body weight exercises, how often you want to work out, and even how much time you want to spend working out.

Of course, be sure to check with your physician before starting any routines like this, just to be safe.

I find that exercising three days a week has made a big difference in how I feel throughout the day. I’m mentally sharper, more energetic, and after a few weeks I actually crave exercise. Weird, right?

Also, get some outside time. I know, with social distancing, quarantines, and city and state parks being shut down that limits where you can go. However, you can still simply sit outside for thirty minutes. Sit on your patio or balcony. Maybe go for a drive with the windows down in your car. Walk around the block. Do laps in your backyard. The point here is twofold – first, getting some fresh air. Sitting in the house breathing that recycled air for days on end isn’t conducive to mental or physical health. Secondly, it gets you in the sunshine for a bit, and we all need a little vitamin D to stay healthy.

And finally, be creative. I know, I know, you don’t feel like it. You aren’t inspired. You’re bored. You don’t have any ideas. Whatever. Then use that as your inspiration and motivation. Write about how you’re feeling. Draw your frustrations. Paint your fears. Use all that crap building up in your head as the foundation for a creative project. Again, this is good for your mental health and gives your creative muscles some exercise. It’s a win-win!

Please, don’t let cabin fever get into your head. Focus on the good things in your life. Focus on doing something creative. And remember there are people you can talk to (online, of course) to help you manage.

Be safe and stay healthy.

RB