Tag: remove fear and doubt - Mala Naidoo's Book World

Creating in a Challenging World

We have read it and heard it repeated everywhere we look and listen.

Change is — has been — will impact all facets of life. The current global change that has claimed 2020 has challenged the ‘do I dare?’ mindset of the creative. The muse is a sensitive soul. She feels the angst as deeply as the joy — inspiration is derived and mined from this seat — gold mined.

Health crisis, economic crisis, the uncertainty of life, the fear of not so much the outdoors but whether we can trust that everybody is doing the right thing.

For how long must we entertain fear as it enslaves us by forfeiting joy?

The creative forges on to leave the carbon footprint of these challenging times.

Dare and dare again and the muse shall heed the call.

The creative day, if allowed to slide, is a difficult one to recover but is possible with the determination of, ‘I will dare.’

TS Eliot’s poem, The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock. conveys the uncertainty of modern times where ‘normal’ becomes unusual. Images of desolation pervade his poem:

Like a patient etherized upon a table/Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,/The muttering retreats

This echoes the current emotional and scientific uncertainty we face.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,

The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes

Eliot’s raw emotions capture the universal angst of his time where rapid economic and technological advancement changed his perceptions of life. And the yellow fog of uncertainty seeps into 2020 rising, falling …

The natural outcome is to be perplexed but navigation to the new normal through introspection is vital.

The pen is the mighty memory of our time, of all times, and writing must go on as must art and music and all creative pursuits.

In the making as creatives, writers, artists, we share a universal experience in that it is normal to be afraid, and it is brave to dare by creating new worlds that either mirror the present or transport us to worlds we dream of. In dreaming we bring those hopeful worlds into the conscious mind of the reader/audience who in turn subconsciously works towards making that dreamed, hopeful world, a new reality.

The writer’s pen will never dry or fade — words speak into the future from the past bringing meaning and understanding that this too shall pass.

The human condition is live with the possibility for new stories to be told, poems to be written, songs to be sung and paintings to be created to articulate and quell all fear.

Do I dare, and do I dare, — oh yes, we must, to make this life the best life we have had the courage to dream into our reality!

Today step forward — leave the fences and backyards of your mind and speak of your fears, insecurity, and uncertainty through artistic expression.

Take a chance. Live your passion.

This is a time for you to be YOU in all that you do without the fear of judgement.

Happy writing. Happy creating. Happy daring to channel your way forward for a life free of angst with the promise of joy.

What’s your creative plan?

So you want to write?

Why not?

You will enjoy the process of creating the story you have always wanted to write.

What’s holding you back?

Fear and Time?

Counteract fear by writing the best story you can. Temper your inner critic, the belief that you’re an imposter in the craft – avoid this or you become your own worst enemy. Trust your desire to write and turn to the supportive person in your life who will allow your light to shine.

Find time in your day to get down as many words as you can. Do it consistently to keep yourself inspired to go on to complete your novel. Fifteen minutes a day is better than not writing at all.

Will you be a pantser or plotter?

Would you meticulously plan scenes, with graphs and maps etc or let your creative energy lead you with just the basics planned out for your novel? There are various schools of thought on being a pantser or plotter. I’m somewhat hybrid on that. Mental planning with a few scribbled thoughts here and there make me more a pantser than a plotter.

Challenges that could occur

Shut the door as you write, as Stephen King advises in, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, ( I gained the courage to finish and publish my books drawing from the advice in this book), until you are ready to tell the world.

Once you begin to tell others, be prepared for either cynicism or support. The cynics are not worth your time – leave them to their cynical worlds and do what you have to do – write the best story you can!

Writing is an emotional process that often dives into a point of long-held pain or passion. When dubious eyes, lopsided smiles, and tongues that doubt, disturb your orbit, it’s time to turn them down or off.

Consistent writing, turning to influencers of the trade and reading books on how to write well or listening to podcasts on writing and signing up for webinars on the craft is the way to pay your way forward in your growth as a writer.

No story is not worth telling if your aim is to enlighten or connect with your reader or you know what you have to say will make a difference- write that story.

And there’s more…

Writing the story is not all you have to consider, you should then research traditional and self-publishing options and find your best fit. Know your genre, research writers in the genre you want to write in and carve your approach, your own style. Once the final product, the actual book, with a professional cover, professional editing, blurb, author biography, ISBN, date, publisher, and place of publication etc are in place, the marketing of your book begins. Whether you opt for traditional or self-publishing, the onus is squarely on your shoulders to market your book.

Don’t put off writing your book. Now is the best time.

It took me several years to finally master the fear to turn to my beta reader to have a look at my work.

We need more stories, stories that speak of angst and optimism and stories that make us laugh out loud, hold us in suspense, evoke disbelief or leave us in meditative contemplation.

We need stories that remind us of our essential humanity.

Write your book today. Publish it in 2018!

Don’t you know yet? It is Your Light that lights the worlds – Rumi

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