5.17.24

“That’s it? Silver spoon much? You entitled ponce. What about all the real and serious consequences people fear if they try something and it goes sideways?”

I am scared that if I create something the boss doesn’t like I will get fired and won’t be able to find a new job in this economy; my kids will go hungry.

I’m scared that creative failure will result in having to shut down the company, and a bunch of friends I hired will be out of work because of me.

I’m scared that people’s spouses will leave them because a project or company failed.

I’m scared that powerful forces will take umbrage to what I’ve created and will throw me in prison.

I’m scared someone will attack me with a knife because of something I’ve created.

 

And some of these – all of these! – are very real world examples of things that happen sometimes when a creative endeavor goes wrong.

Taylor Swift snidely sings, “Yeah they sit around talkin’ about the meaning of life and the book that just saved ‘em that I hadn’t heard of.”

And I recognize that there is a certain level of entitlement, privilege, and pseudo-academic snobbery associated with writing about books, writing about creativity, and with the incredible fortune of being in a position where the kinds of fears you can articulate have to do with the emotional consequences of a poor creation. These are not the fears of folks in Gaza today. These are not the fears of writers and poets publishing in secret inside totalitarian countries. These are not the fears of the hungry, those on the run, the wrongfully imprisoned, or those living in abusive relationships.

And somehow – wonderfully – humans DO keep creating things. They write poems on prison walls, they public newspapers in secret that critique the regime, they work on video games while the bombs fall on their country, they squint through the black eye and sketch with charcoal on rough paper, they write imaginative novels of their furious disrespect even under the threat of an irrevocable a death sentence.

Humans create despite their fear.

And yes, I am incredibly privileged to be able to think about books, and writing, and games, and creativity. And I am very fortunate to not have to truly worry about much other than some mild public teehee if I stumble or fail. (And, it’s important always to remember “you wouldn’t worry so much what people thought about you if you realize how seldom they do.”) And I suspect that MOST of the would-be creators who hesitate because they are afraid don’t truly face many of these real or dire consequences.

So keep creating.

Keep trying.

If you stumble, brush your shoulders off. Try again; fail better.

And remember you’re in good company:

Even the wealthy, popular, and powerful Miss Swift appears to have late night fears about her creations not being popular asking, “Will you still want me when I’m nothing new?”