Reaching a Stalemate with Creativity

When you set out on a creative quest—writing a book, biking cross-country, starting a business—you’re told it will take longer than expected.

Somehow, you think the experience of others won’t quite hold true for you…

But of course, this is what happened with my bookI figured when I finished the first draft last October that I’d be done with the rest come Spring. I was wrong. 

I’ve never really had to work like this, creating something that comes wholly from me.

Past jobs came easily. I cared (sometimes), but not like this. I wasn’t throwing myself on the line. They were easy, calculated risks. I would succeed, all was well.

messy chalkboard with formulas

Pursuing writing has always been weighted against the extreme doubt, the undeniable knowledge, that success ultimately relies on my subjective mind and experience.

No hacking or charming my way into this one, no specific skills or formulas to apply. I’m just working with general overall ability.

I’m slowed by the nebulous weight of that requirement.

Similar, I guess, to how it would be for any pursuer of creative exposure—a painter, entrepreneur, musician, dancer. Threats of a creative stalemate loom. They taunt.

My current book is nonfiction; it’s relatively safe in terms of personal vulnerability. Still, calculated measures may not equate to guaranteed success, and that’s not an okay feeling for this star student.

We’re bound to encounter resistance when trying to put our inside stuff out. And the only real solution is grit. Pushing through until you reach the other side. If nothing else, fall upon curiosity—what is the other side, anyway?


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 photocred:photopin.com

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