Big Goals
The creative world is similar to International Relations. There are limited resources in International Relations, either resources of energy, wealth, or human beings. In the creative world, there is a finite number of potential paying publishers, agents, or patrons. The International System is generally viewed as not having any central controlling arm, overseeing the entire operation. It is a self-help system. Making progress in Creativity is similar in that regard. All though one may find alliances with groups of friends, peers, or colleagues, generally, one’s success is directly dependent on one’s own effort and guile. And in both situations confidence is key for success in these systems. Anyone can have confidence, and there is no shortage of paper tigers in the world or in the creative environment of either writing or music. But there is something to actually be said about the confidence of Americans after the Revolutionary War. That confidence to engage in Manifest Destiny was based on an actual victory against a powerful adversary. And likewise, as creative people, we need small victories in order to build confidence that is based on real life results in our respective fields.
If one is waiting to get published and get a massively lucrative book deal in order to be confident then there is a serious problem. We need to be confident first, and then let that voice become self evident through the work itself. And this is only accomplished by having a creative goal in one’s mind before creating something, and then hitting that goal when the creative work is shared.
When writing stories or music there is one thing that is constant: The need for a good hook.
We need to make the reader or listener want to complete the journey, and not put it down. And the only way to do that, is to literally fight for every second and sentence…especially in the beginning.
But what if the story or song doesn’t get good until 10 pages or seconds? Or what if we’ve been grinding on the same intro for weeks and things just aren’t flowing right. Frustration is setting in like frozen molasses and we’re stuck.
This is the perfect time to give yourself some self-inflicted homework and sharpen the tools and achieve a small victory. Everyone wants to write the next epic or musical masterpiece. But sometimes honing in on a specific musical style that is targeted for a niche audience, and then pitching that very song to a member of that demographic can yield the exact type of feedback that one needs.
If you can’t write a birthday card that makes the reader feel good then you are missing something.
One thing to consider is the artistic/commercial conundrum. A lot of people get stuck on this. Here’s the concept: I’m an artist. So I create what I want. I don’t care what other people think. If I sold my work or got recognition in professional circles, I would be selling out or be going, “main stream.”
Have you heard this anywhere before? This type of attitude is extremely limiting and doesn’t really work in today’s highly competitive environment. There are simply too many hobbyists who are willing to distribute their work for free. This over-saturation of almost every creative market requires a creative person to truly polish his or her work in order to have it stand out.
So let’s get some small victories under our belts. There are two types of small victories in the creative field. There are first the obvious victories where we get a story published, even in a small zine or school journal. This goes for music also, where we can get a lot of listens and feedback on a track, or maybe even sell a single here or there.
Then there are the less obvious but nevertheless important victories of self. Where we write something that is so polished that after we write it, it feels good. After reading it, one may think, “I get this.” Or maybe the intent is to disturb or invigorate, the key is creating something and feeling like we are improving in our skills rather than spinning wheels or backsliding.
Musically this can be achieved by creating something and then listening to it for pleasure. Hey, that’s legit. If you like what you’re cooking that’s the first step in putting it on someone else’s plate.
After numerous smaller victories. A vote of confidence from a friend here. Someone ASKING to read your writing there. A friend BEGGING to hear something new from over there. These victories, if based on honest feedback should reinforce your already secure outlook on your own skills. And the end result is confidence for tackling even bigger goals.
A bigger could could be writing a piece that is slightly longer. Or developing a short piece that has both a tight hook as well as a compelling theme or moral message. Musically you can work on a piece that has structure of number of layers that may have seemed daunting before. Or perhaps the opposite happens and you decide to say more melodically and rhythmically by using less instruments and a more minimalistic approach, yet at the same time conveying a greater emotional connection with the listener.
Just like last time, see if these goals are hit and if so, chalk them up as a victory to add to your hat. Eventually you will become prolific and creation will become second nature. And larger goals of high quality finished products will no longer seem lofty to yourself, or your peers.
As the United States stands in an uncertain world, maybe applying some of these concepts might have some value. There are big problems that are receiving big rhetoric and attention. But there definitely are certain issues that are not so big. And if these topics either dealing with efficiency, productivity, or solidarity were tackled on a more piecemeal and humble level, perhaps we would see greater confidence and ingenuity when approaching larger media-attention-getting issues.
-Tyler