One of my biggest stresses when I first started down the road to getting my work published came from a friend of mine. He said to me, “I can’t wait to read your book so I can get into your head.”
That freaked me out just a little. I mean, do I really want people wandering around in my head? It’s a pretty disorganized place to be for starters.
It also makes me ask myself the question, “Just who do I think I am, anyway?” I mean, my writing is really me, on display. Do I think my ideas are important enough to put out there?
It all comes back to that artistic doubt many (most?) of us share. Is our work good enough? Will it be enjoyed or criticized?
So, why am I asking myself these questions today?
It actually comes from Justin Timberlake’s new album announcement. It saw his name come up as trending on Twitter and I wanted to see why. So I looked and was instantly amazed by the amount of nasty and/or negative comments out there from people who I’ve never heard of. That would lead me to believe they are slightly less successful than Justin Timberlake who I have heard of and enjoy listening to.
His new album may not be for everyone. Heck, it might only be for a select few, but it represents an artistic expression on his part. Is it okay for people to immediately feel they have the right to tear him down? People who almost certainly haven’t done anything of note themselves?
Wouldn’t it be amazing if, rather than criticize what you don’t like, people would say, “You know, I think I can do better. Let me show you my vision of this.” Challenge each other to greater heights rather than see what lows we can sink to?
Just a thought.
