WRITE SCARED!!!

YOU DON'T IMPROVE BY BEING CUDDLED

Everyone wants to be part of a group. If for no other reason so you can behave like a Musk Ox when the wolves of reality start circling. You know you're familiar with the behavior. Trying to sink into the center of the herd so that when the predators make their move it's the ones on the fringe they take down.

That works for herd animals. Not so much for creative humans. Face it, we all go through it. I'm a poet so I hang around with poets. I'm a painter so I associate with painters. I play a kazoo so...You get the image, right?

It's not that being part of a community is a bad thing, unless that community is so afraid of criticism it avoids it like the dentist. Reacting with that, "Yes. I know the dentist is a necessity and I should occasionally submit to having him prod and poke me. But it huuurrrrtttssss!!!!" Of course the alternative is slow rot and decay. Which is the fate of a lot of people in the arts who barricade their egos inside a cuddly little group of ass-patters. People who tell them what wonderful examples of the aesthetic ideal they are and no one has the right to judge them. They all attend the same soirees. They all patronize the same venues and outlets. They all bore each other to tears with their patent, suffocating emptiness.

Truth is, if you're not being challenged by those around you - If you're not being pushed and prodded - Your chances of making any real headway starts to resemble an un-cared for water craft wallowing and sinking. If the people around you are so insecure in their own talent and dreams as to be deathly afraid of  rejection, they will never push you to be better than they see all the members of their clique or, God forbid, themselves! They may even take every opportunity to make sure you never rise on your own two feet to walk like Homo  Sapiens.

When you're seeking out the peers you deserve, find those with a brutal honesty. When you're looking for a place to publish, perform, or exhibit, aim higher than you ever though prudent. When you fail, take note of the possible reasons, get up off the floor, and try it again. Rewrite, repaint, rearrange. Then go right back into the maelstrom lashed to the mast. As the Samurai saying goes, "Three times down. Four times up."

I keep track of all my literary submissions in a spread sheet. There are a lot more entries in the "Rejected" category than any other. But I have had my successes and continue to do so. Last year was a marvelous year for my paintings and prints. I've won several prizes and now have art exhibited in a number of private homes. I've sat on a stage playing solo at a local Bluegrass festival and sweat and shook my way through the entire performance. But I did perform and was rewarded with some very kind applause. Every bit of it sharpened my desire and skill. Every bit of it made me a better artist.

When something I've submitted for consideration isn't accepted, it isn't a failure. It's a learning experience. I sit down with the piece and I say, how can I do this better. I solicit criticism, suggestion, and feedback. I research and experiment until I'm cross-eyed and dizzy. I write scared because I have learned if it doesn't scare the hell out of you, you're not trying hard enough!