Man Up

More than talent, more than ability, more than skill, what a writer needs is courage.

Courage.

Matisse said something similar, "Creativity requires courage."

Finding courage and fighting resistance is now a major industry. There are libraries of books and armies of gurus, therapists, and other self-described experts with portfolios bulging with conferences, 12-step programs, and all other media available to help the artist to face the page, face the fear, break the wall, to push on even when you despise the results or when the muses abandon you, courage to present something you're not sure of, to push into new frontiers, or more importantly, especially when you aren't pushing into new frontiers. Courage not to hide. Courage to tell your stories, to reveal your history, to use the most authentic material at hand though it may be coworkers, friends, and family. Accountants, managers, associates, lawyers, doctors, etc may hide in their work, may claim it is just their job. An artist cannot.

Popular marketer and blogger Seth Godin defines art as 1) made by human being, 2) created to have an impact, to change someone else, and 3) is a gift. You can sell the souvenir, the canvas, the recording... but the idea itself is free, and the generosity is a critical part of making art. Most art has nothing to do with oil paint of marble. Art is what we're doing when we do our best work.

Art is what we're doing when we do our best work.

That's to say art work is artwork, but it's work and that's the creator's job. It's a process of stages, a work in progress: First with the heart, then with the head. But first, get it down. The first draft, the thumbnail, the first take, should always be authored by the heart. (I cribbed a bit from Finding Forrester there.)

Art work does not necessarily produce the artwork, but it is a spiritual exercise.

So now, go exercise.