taking action
“beginnings are easy.”
I wrote that almost one year ago. I stand by those words and yet I've been holding myself back from letting the era of writing and sharing it with the world truly begin. I’ve been quietly working on an album for just over a year and a half. A few of my close friends and family have heard some of the songs. Many of those songs are ready to move into the next phase which is the scariest: production.
It’s when I get to these more looming steps, the ones where the work intensifies substantially, that I start to travel down the spiral slide of doom wondering if the end result will be worth it. Will the album be received well? Will it sound the way it does in my mind? Will I be able to execute my vision to the level of quality I value from the artists I listen to?
I typically settle on a firm “probably not” and let the project fade quietly into the abyss. That’s what happened with Substack. I wanted to write here for an audience whose attention I had yet to earn by sharing quality writing that was interesting, informative, and useful. I fell into the pattern of thinking I couldn’t write something that people would want to read. Draft after draft, a sentence here and there. I would just delete them. “Someone probably already wrote something similar,” I’d sarcastically mutter to myself, and maybe they have! Does that make my writing less valuable? It shouldn't!
I’m going to finish my album if it’s the last creative thing I ever do, (which it won’t be). I plan to use Substack as a medium to tease the songs and keep myself accountable. I’ll be posting snippets and writing about the thoughts, memories, and experiences that inspired the lyrics. Hopefully engaging with you all during my writing process and receiving feedback (positive and critical are welcome) will help push me to the finish line. Keep an eye out in the next two weeks for the first track title “transmission_received”!
Maybe you’re in a similar boat (or car…) yourself? What do you use to keep yourself invested in your projects? How do you push yourself to forge through the risk? Let’s get a conversation going and come together over the shared struggle of being creative in a world where being original is becoming harder and harder.
<JNOG>