Not Really Sure

Hello everyone,

This is my first time contributing to this community, but I want to share a few things I have recently learned from a creative writing course I am currently taking. Though some of these things may be obvious to others, this is, of course, to help those who don't know what to do when they get lost or stuck while writing. They were beneficial things that I just learned about myself, which helped sort of boost my self-esteem when it comes to writing.

After watching a couple of TED talks (I will link them for those interested) on the writing process, one of the people I watched, Elizabeth Gilbert, made a wonderful point: Just show up to work.

The premise of this quote was surrounded by her telling how creators back in the day used to have their little creative helper creatures, which were just epiphanies that the creators had that they assigned a different type of entity thing. With this, they were able to disconnect from their work in a sense where if it was scrutinized, they didn't have to take the burden of their creation all on their shoulders. Once people started to take the criticism and scrutiny of their works onto themselves alone, the creators started to get the reputation of being unhealthy individuals in various ways. (Refraining from specifications pointed out in the talk to prevent any discomfort or triggering stereotypes.)

Gilbert spoke to other authors who told her that they would get a feeling of a work coming for them, so they needed to write it down immediately. One of them said she had pulled back a poem to her so she could write it down but it came out backwards when she wrote it down. Another said he had gotten a melody in his head that he wanted to write down, but he was driving so he verbally said out loud, "Either come back to me when I can actually write you down or go bother someone else." Or something to that premise.

Elizabeth Gilbert used this second person's method once while having writer's block and spoke to a corner saying, "I showed up and I am doing my work, now it's your turn to participate." to this hypothetical being that is supposed to help. It helped her write her greatest work at the time, Eat, Pray, Love.

The point is, just show up and do your work, because that is all that you are responsible for. Whether it turns out a great hit or a dud, it doesn't matter because you showed up and gave yourself to it. You did your job, so don't worry, it's all part of the process!

I just thought that this may be inspirational to someone. Below are linked the two videos I found helpful!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA - Elizabeth Gilbert's "Your elusive creative genius"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X41iulkRqZU&t=208s - Anne Lamott's "12 truths I learned from life and writing"