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Are You Aiming to Please? Or Are You Taking Risks?
"Art is not about minimizing risk and delivering work that is guaranteed to please." --Twyla Tharp
A budding novelist I hugely admire mentioned in the Wildfire Master Class yesterday that a couple of agents had rejected her work. She was thinking about changing her style to make it more gripping, more "contemporary."
I cautioned her that what makes those two agents happy might not be the best thing for her novel. I reminded her how engaging and smart her writing is - how original. Would she pander to please an agent? Or would she be true to the art of her work?
There are risks in being an original. Some might not get what you're doing. Their tastes may be more conventional. They may be confused about where you fit in.
This is something that comes up for me whenever I read my poetry.
(Join me tomorrow evening, October 25 at 7 pm, as the featured poet at Last Saturday at Mon Ami in Vancouver.)
Are
people going to get it? I look at their faces and sometimes shrink
inside. I have to remember, not everybody is going to get it - and
possibly, no one will. But I'm here to share what I've created
whether or not I'm liked or understood.
Each artist must weigh decisions that shape the work. The hardest decision is to be who you are. Trust the vision. Be willing to risk the disinterest of others.
Are you expressing yourself? Or are you focusing on what you think others may want?
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While we're talking about trusting our selves and our bodies, check out my video with Jenna Abernathy as we delve into our Stories in the Body workshop.
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Also, I will be a featured author at Another Read Through in North Portland on November 8. Join me and the gang from The Night, the Rain, and the River anthology.
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October-November 2014
Last Saturday at Mon Ami
October 25 7-9 pm
1906 Main Street Vancouver
Join me for this open mic poetry event!
Wildfire Wednesday
October 29 6 pm
Cascade Park Library
Bring stories, poems, any writing to read - and comfort foods, too!
"Stories in the Body"
Journey Dance and Wildfire Writing
Sunday Nov 16 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Waterline Studio 55 NE Farragut St #4 Portland 97211
Register
Wildfire Master Classes
Weds, November 5 & 19
Thurs, October 30, Nov 6, 13, 20
Thursday 6:30 pm through December 6
Be the most creative you.
Risk.
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