Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self
- Cyril Connolly
So I notice that I'm already creating a serious blog-writing block with thoughts that I'll never be as brilliant, funny or articulate as some of the fabulous blogs I'm following. I mean, if someone is going to spend their precious time reading my words, it had better be "worthy" hadn't it?
When I read julochka I'm inspired to write clever observations on the world around me illustrated by interesting photography, then realize that I still don't have a good camera and I don't live in Denmark. When I read Whatever Will I Do With My Life I get stuck in the thought that I'll never achieve her blend of colorful daily life and humor. And I don't live in South Africa. These ladies have set the bar pretty high.
So what's a perfectionist to do?
Last year I participated in a 12-week training by my dear friend Jill Badonsky called Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching, and if I learned anything from Jill it was to silence those ugly twins in my head: Ivan Inner Critic and Ima Perfectionist. Send them to hell and just jump in and if it's not particularly insightful, brilliant, hilarious or even interesting, then that will be part of the process of writing. And it will be good enough. Oh God, will I ever be good enough? At what point does one ever stop worrying about being good enough?
Or I could simply write for me. Write for the pleasure of putting my thoughts into words. Write to remember special moments. Write to quiet the voices in my brain that demand to be heard. Write simply to feel my hands blaze across the keyboard (at 95 wpm they do, indeed blaze).
Alright. I'm willing to give up 50% of trying soooooo hard and go with the flow.
But you can bet I'll be hearing from the twins.
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4 comments:
Oh! I know how you feel! It's so easy to have blog envy! And those two are brilliant! I try to write for myself most of the time. Otherwise, it's not as fun!
PS. Thanks for following!
I agree, they've set the bar pretty high. But I enjoy your blog, too, and you are a great writer! Thanks for peeking in...as you can see I've just barely begun!
Thanks! I like your blog already, even if you've only started! My blog changed so much at the beginning, until I found what I was more comfortable with, so just keep writing! :)
liz, dahling, we all felt like this in the beginning. it's totally natural. and i'm still blown away that anyone is reading all of the random crap that comes out my fingers. :-) honored and grateful, but amazed.
you just have to try lots of different things and see what's "you." and don't worry about what others are doing...just take inspiration from it..especially on topics and things like "this girl..." posts. those are really liberating! :-)
xox!
/julie
p.s. thanks for the far-too-kind words here.:-)
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