12 November 2009
by 
4 CommentsIn the video below, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of “Eat, Pray, Love“, shares the greatest rule for artistic success, Show Up For The Job!
As writers, we struggle against inspiration and creativity but can we truly know the source of insight and ideas? Our job is to show up, hands on keys or pen on page, be there, each day and perform the act of writing; participate in the process. We can’t control the quality of our creativity, we can’t control how receptive to our thoughts readers will be or which novel makes it to the best seller lists and which don’t. Our part of the process is to show up at the keyboard and get the words on the page.
Listen as Elizabeth discusses the importance of nurturing creativity and trusting the “genius” that exists outside of ourselves, and in putting aside fear to do the job.
What are your thoughts about what Elizabeth has shared? Do you feel creativity is an external power? Where do you think your own creativity comes from?
I’ve never really thought about having an external genius, although now that Elizabeth mentioned it, I’m intrigued. It does seem to be a way to relieve a bit of a pressure of creative endeavors.
I think I believe that creativity will come when I’m ready, so right now I’m just focusing on showing up for the job (writing). Hopefully, the more time I’m focused, the readier I become, the higher chance I have to be creative and actually produce something legible.
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Many spiritual gurus say that they are just a vessel and the words come to them from a higher power and then through them onto the paper or computer screen. This is why I can understand why people feel creativity is an “external power.” Sometimes when I write I wonder how I wrote what I wrote. It’s like I go into a “daze” and before I know it my blog post is written or I finish an Act for my screenplay. Who knows…
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I’ve often believed that my fiction comes from outside of myself. These fantastical thoughts and ideas are so far out of my own normal being that they couldn’t possibly be mine. But then I get the story mostly on the page and reach the point that Elizabeth talked about, where it just doesn’t feel like the inspiration is ‘there’ any more and we’re slugging through the process without really getting anywhere.
That is the point I’ve been at for over a year with my current novel. The story/plot is inspired, it’s one I am certain needs to be told and it came to me. I have doubts about my ability to portray it as it deserves and watching Elizabeth I realized, all I can do is show up to the job. Put words on the page and ask the divine to do their part in making it great.
We write stories, the magic and luck that makes masterpieces comes from somewhere beyond us.
Yes, you have to show up at the keyboard but you WILL do that if you are a writer. While you are not a writer, you will live and show up at the hair salon (working or having your hair done), the supermarket (working or buying), the local bar(working or lushing it up), skydiving (have I made my point yet?). And at the end of all that–LIFE–if you come back to the keyboard, you may even have something to say that others want to hear.