creative maverick

I meet people at careers workshops who want to do something creative like writing but they’re not doing it. It’s like they’re waiting for some kind of permission to start.

They say “I don’t know if I’m good enough” like there’s an Independent Talent Auditing Board who issues licenses. Guess what, no one can stop you! The talent police will not swoop in through the windows if you put pen to paper. Besides, the best way to become a better writer is to write. This applies to pretty much everything else in life too.

“But what if I’m not very talented?” So what? As David Bayles and Ted Borland write in the superb book “Art & Fear“;

“Q: If people differ [in their level of talent], and each of them were to make their best work, would not the more gifted make better work and the less gifted, less?

A: Yes. And wouldn’t that be a nice planet to live on?”

If you feel drawn to write, write. Maybe you won’t ever make a living out of it but if you don’t start, you are stunting the growth of a part of your personality. And who knows where developing this creative part of you might lead?

You don’t need to pack your job in to become a full-time writer (please don’t!)
Just take out your pen and write for 5 mins.

Congratulations, you’re a writer!