this: “There is so much going on in the world. Who wants to hear about me and my book? It would be insensitive of me to even share about it now.”
um, yeah.
But at my doc's yesterday, she thanked me for signing a copy of my novel that a mutual friend gave her, and told me she'd bought 4 copies to give to others! Then in asking about her kids, i heard her 23-year-old daughter might land in the asexual identity, which i'm trying to portray for a couple college kids in my WIP, so now i have a potential sensitivity reader for it. Pretty cool. and incentive to continue.
"Instead of shrinking away, help them understand the process."
This part!
I've had four babies, each of them "overdue," each supported by midwives and the mindset that babies come when they're ready. But when the dominant culture around you has scheduled inductions and C-sections, patience isn't the norm. I had to learn how to respond to SO many well meaning but frustrating questions about when the baby was coming already—and it's the same as it is for books.
Patience isn't the norm. For years, the process hasn't been transparent—sometimes talking about it is even taboo. And mostly, the questioner has no idea what the process entails.
They mean well. They're excited to see what you've created and probably hoping to see you find relief and not be so uncomfortable anymore. Trust that "Is your book done YET?!" isn't an indictment on your slowness. It's just a gross misunderstanding about what it takes to write one.
Oh, and something else, I remember talking to a friend of mine, an avid reader, about why I’m on social media as an author. I explained in detail the importance of reaching out to booksellers, networking, drumming up interest, even the difficult process of getting blurbs for my first book. It fascinated her. “I had no idea!” she said.
Your messages about putting yourself out there continues to resonate with me. I’m recovering from a major health issue and I’m not working on my book now and even put my weekly Substack science fiction newsletter on hiatus. I did keep reading others each day and continued my habit of responding with thoughtful comments. What really shocked me is that during this time people discovered me by my comments on others’ posts and felt I had worthwhile enough things to say that they signed up for my weekly newsletter even though it’s on hold right now.
For others who wonder if people will care about what you write, the answer is probably yes if you’re willing to put yourself out there with no expectations. Just keep writing and see what happens. People will often surprise you in the. Most positive and affirming ways.
Dan thanks for the regular reminders and encouragement.
greatest positive outcome of sharing my voice and creative work could be actually finding it. My creative endeavors have always been so measured and honed before sharing up until this point, but that feels like a stale way to do things for me now and I'm ready to see what happens if I push myself to experiment more. I don't think that in between "nothing" place Bono mentioned is a waiting room. That's where I am right now, but I'd like to use it (and substack) as more of a workshop than a waiting room.
the greatest positive outcome of sharing my voice and my writing or creative work could be: that someone would reconsider or rediscover their relationship with Nature with a capital N. Meaning a Nature filled with sentient beings; animals, plants, minerals, water: all alive and aware. Where alliances are possible- where we can connect to points of reference that are beyond our physical human set. Gaining a deeper perspective on our world. And maybe understand what is happening if they have a tendency to cross into the other worlds spontaneously. To go from fearing that to embracing it. And finding their own power.
The greatest outcome of sharing my creative work and voice is to engender more empathy for people who are different from us, esp marginalized groups. As our current political context becomes more polarized, this feels increasingly important. I hope my memoir-in-essay, Breakfast Wine, out June 10, shows how people "over there" (it takes place in northern Iraq) are just like folks here. We all want our kids to be safe and grow up with possibility. That youth bear the brunt of violent conflict yet are never at the decision making table when the decision to enter into violent conflict is made. And despite having suffered so much, they still have the capacity for joy, wonder, generous, and resilience.
Dan, the greatest outcome of sharing my voice is that I’ve opened someone’s eyes to the connections among us as human beings, that our differences make us richer not poorer, and and that it is important to learn from history what pathways we should and should not take.
I have been offline editing my memoir manuscript and have wondered, "What's the point now with all that is going on?" Your newsletter bolstered my courage to continue with it and not hide away because there are "more important things" going on.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging message. It remembered me partly why I decided to write the story I'm working on. My daughter is dealing with a mental health issue. And I deal with having bipolar myself. Sadly I feel that society fails at dealing with mental health issues. My story deals with characters with mental health issues and how the system fails them too. It is about hopefully bringing awareness to an issue largely ignored.
I shared pictures of my latest abstract artwork today, and before I could tell her anything about it or what I named it, the woman said, "Ooh, I see dragons and war!" She got it completely - I had named the painting Heaven's War, based on Revelation 12. I felt validated and confirmed that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing right now. That's the greatest outcome I could ever expect from opening up and sharing.
Outcomes of sharing reality with humor in memoirs that raise people's self-esteem and chances to THEMSELVES help change the world in a value-filled way--that's my own best outcome of sharing my writing. And putting myself out there for total enJOYment of reading about others who have foibles and funnies, mistakes, and a little mayhem.
I love these pics of your son, who is fascinated with the typewriter. I remember going into my father's office as a young girl, and the first thing I did was take out a piece of paper and put it in the electric typewriter. It was the coolest.
this: “There is so much going on in the world. Who wants to hear about me and my book? It would be insensitive of me to even share about it now.”
um, yeah.
But at my doc's yesterday, she thanked me for signing a copy of my novel that a mutual friend gave her, and told me she'd bought 4 copies to give to others! Then in asking about her kids, i heard her 23-year-old daughter might land in the asexual identity, which i'm trying to portray for a couple college kids in my WIP, so now i have a potential sensitivity reader for it. Pretty cool. and incentive to continue.
Wow — congratulations Sid!
"Instead of shrinking away, help them understand the process."
This part!
I've had four babies, each of them "overdue," each supported by midwives and the mindset that babies come when they're ready. But when the dominant culture around you has scheduled inductions and C-sections, patience isn't the norm. I had to learn how to respond to SO many well meaning but frustrating questions about when the baby was coming already—and it's the same as it is for books.
Patience isn't the norm. For years, the process hasn't been transparent—sometimes talking about it is even taboo. And mostly, the questioner has no idea what the process entails.
They mean well. They're excited to see what you've created and probably hoping to see you find relief and not be so uncomfortable anymore. Trust that "Is your book done YET?!" isn't an indictment on your slowness. It's just a gross misunderstanding about what it takes to write one.
Thanks Brannan!
Oh, and something else, I remember talking to a friend of mine, an avid reader, about why I’m on social media as an author. I explained in detail the importance of reaching out to booksellers, networking, drumming up interest, even the difficult process of getting blurbs for my first book. It fascinated her. “I had no idea!” she said.
How cool!
Your messages about putting yourself out there continues to resonate with me. I’m recovering from a major health issue and I’m not working on my book now and even put my weekly Substack science fiction newsletter on hiatus. I did keep reading others each day and continued my habit of responding with thoughtful comments. What really shocked me is that during this time people discovered me by my comments on others’ posts and felt I had worthwhile enough things to say that they signed up for my weekly newsletter even though it’s on hold right now.
For others who wonder if people will care about what you write, the answer is probably yes if you’re willing to put yourself out there with no expectations. Just keep writing and see what happens. People will often surprise you in the. Most positive and affirming ways.
Dan thanks for the regular reminders and encouragement.
Thank you for sharing your process as you move through this Bruce! And I appreciate the kind words.
greatest positive outcome of sharing my voice and creative work could be actually finding it. My creative endeavors have always been so measured and honed before sharing up until this point, but that feels like a stale way to do things for me now and I'm ready to see what happens if I push myself to experiment more. I don't think that in between "nothing" place Bono mentioned is a waiting room. That's where I am right now, but I'd like to use it (and substack) as more of a workshop than a waiting room.
Thank you Tricia!
the greatest positive outcome of sharing my voice and my writing or creative work could be: that someone would reconsider or rediscover their relationship with Nature with a capital N. Meaning a Nature filled with sentient beings; animals, plants, minerals, water: all alive and aware. Where alliances are possible- where we can connect to points of reference that are beyond our physical human set. Gaining a deeper perspective on our world. And maybe understand what is happening if they have a tendency to cross into the other worlds spontaneously. To go from fearing that to embracing it. And finding their own power.
Ooooh — nice!!! Thank you Laura.
Thank you. I listened today and liked your writing in that format too. I’d never considered that about U2!
Thanks Leann!
The greatest outcome of sharing my creative work and voice is to engender more empathy for people who are different from us, esp marginalized groups. As our current political context becomes more polarized, this feels increasingly important. I hope my memoir-in-essay, Breakfast Wine, out June 10, shows how people "over there" (it takes place in northern Iraq) are just like folks here. We all want our kids to be safe and grow up with possibility. That youth bear the brunt of violent conflict yet are never at the decision making table when the decision to enter into violent conflict is made. And despite having suffered so much, they still have the capacity for joy, wonder, generous, and resilience.
Thanks Alex!
Dan, the greatest outcome of sharing my voice is that I’ve opened someone’s eyes to the connections among us as human beings, that our differences make us richer not poorer, and and that it is important to learn from history what pathways we should and should not take.
Thank you Denise!
I have been offline editing my memoir manuscript and have wondered, "What's the point now with all that is going on?" Your newsletter bolstered my courage to continue with it and not hide away because there are "more important things" going on.
Yay! Thank you Doreen!
Thank you for sharing this encouraging message. It remembered me partly why I decided to write the story I'm working on. My daughter is dealing with a mental health issue. And I deal with having bipolar myself. Sadly I feel that society fails at dealing with mental health issues. My story deals with characters with mental health issues and how the system fails them too. It is about hopefully bringing awareness to an issue largely ignored.
Thank you so much Ivo!
You're welcome.
Precious pictures!
I shared pictures of my latest abstract artwork today, and before I could tell her anything about it or what I named it, the woman said, "Ooh, I see dragons and war!" She got it completely - I had named the painting Heaven's War, based on Revelation 12. I felt validated and confirmed that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing right now. That's the greatest outcome I could ever expect from opening up and sharing.
Wow — congratulations Tracy!
Outcomes of sharing reality with humor in memoirs that raise people's self-esteem and chances to THEMSELVES help change the world in a value-filled way--that's my own best outcome of sharing my writing. And putting myself out there for total enJOYment of reading about others who have foibles and funnies, mistakes, and a little mayhem.
So wonderful!
Thank you Jill!
My greatest positive outcome is showing my daughter she can be whoever she wants to be, regardless of what other people think of her.
Aw, thanks Henny!
I love these pics of your son, who is fascinated with the typewriter. I remember going into my father's office as a young girl, and the first thing I did was take out a piece of paper and put it in the electric typewriter. It was the coolest.
https://danblank.substack.com/p/step-into-your-creative-identity/comments?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=post_viewer
Aw, thanks Gilly!
Now I need a 40s typewriter dang it! This kid is officially the coolest. Also, that Bono story is fascinating and inspiring.
Ha! Thanks Sarah.