This week I found myself revisiting "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. Part of the title reads- "A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self."
If you've never read it-it's a good study on writers block and life in general. I dug it out for a friend and when I thumbed through I discovered some of the things I'd highlighted when reading the book still held true for me today. So, I'm going to post a few here. On the off chance they touch a cord with you as well.
"Over any extended period of time, being an artist requires enthusiasm more than discipline. Enthusiasm is not an emotional state. It is a spiritual commitment, a loving surrender to our creative process, a loving reception to all the creativity around us."
"Remember art is a process and that process is supposed to be fun..."
"(Sometimes our writing circles)...can produce the "How am I doing?" syndrome. This question is not "Is the work going well?" This question is "How does it look to them?" The point of the work is the work... instead of writing being about writing, it becomes about being recognized..."
"As artists we can't afford to think about who is getting ahead of us and how they don't deserve it. The desire to be better than can choke off the simple desire to be."
"As artists, we are asked to repeat ourselves and expand on the market we have built. Sometimes this is possible for us. Other times its not."
"I need to create what wants to be created...I write whether I think it's any good or not."
Finally-please know this quote is the honest truth:
"Good work will sometimes not sell...The market may be rotten even when the work is great. (You) cannot control these factors."
Create anyway- Cheers!
6 comments:
Awesome quotes Nancy! I particularly liked the one about just needing "to be".
Thanks!
Thanks Jessica- that is one of my favorites, too!
That's a hard one for some artists to admit. your work may be good but the market doesn't support it at the time.
I agree, it's a true statement. I think we tend to look at rejections--whether it's a proposal or a query for our work as a testament that the work isn't good. I believe it's all too easy to get caught up in negatives.
As far as acknowledgement for the quality of our work, I think that is also normal. Of course if your focus is on simply being well known, that can hamper creativity, in my opinion.
Oh, I love The Artist's Way... Thank you, Nancy, for reminding me that I need to dust it off my shelf (along with The Vein of Gold and Walking in This World) and immerse myself in Julia Cameron again this summer. How right she got it! How wonderful of you to make sure we remember these lessons! :)
"As artists we can't afford to think about who is getting ahead of us and how they don't deserve it."
But they really didn't deserve it! Am I famous yet?
This is a great reminder about what writing is all about. I haven't thought of The Artist's Way in years but I now feel the urge to find it and reread it.
Jane Kennedy Sutton
http://janekennedysutton.blogspot.com/
Post a Comment