to the artist: just begin

I know it’s hard to start.

 

There’s a blank page, a blinking cursor, white empty space that needs to be filled. I know there’s that pressure. You want to do it just right. You’re working towards your goals and you want to succeed this time.

 

Or maybe you haven’t even gotten to the point of starting. Maybe you’re trying to come up with that perfect idea, or the perfect thing to paint, or the words to go into that song you want to write, or the characters for the movie you’re going to make someday.

Surely it’ll be easier on the weekend when you have time, right? Maybe you should just think about it until you have more time to work on that project…

 

Maybe you’re drained from that last thing you made. It took so much out of you and now the inspiration won’t come.

You overthink things until it all seems overwhelming and you’re no closer to starting than you were a week ago… a month ago… a year.

 

 

 

Stop.

 

Stop waiting for the perfect time.

 

Stop waiting for inspiration to strike.

 

Stop trying to be perfect.

 

I know how it feels.

 

I’m a writer. This past month and a half, I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to do next. I poured so much energy and love and life into my Snow White novella, and then in one day, I went from working on it ALL THE TIME to not working on it at all after I submitted it.

 

I was completely drained. It was like all my inspiration was gone.

 

I didn’t want to start anything new until I had the perfect idea. I want to write a novel, and I want to publish it. So there’s no use in writing something that’s not going to be published… right?

 

Instead of working on something small, I didn’t write anything. I wracked my brains about what I wanted to do next. Maybe I wasn’t a real writer, if I didn’t have any ideas.

 

 

Finally, encouraged by the feedback of the writing community I’m trying out, I started writing again. Nothing special, just the random story snippets inside my head. And it was fun. Sure, those things I’m writing right now might never be published. I might not even show them to anybody. But does it really matter?

 

I’m writing again, and I think that’s the main thing I need to focus on.

 

(I actually have some inspiration now, though, so we’ll see what happens.)

 

My point in saying all this is, I just want to encourage you to begin. Just start something. I don’t care if it doesn’t go anywhere. I don’t care if nobody ever sees it but you.

 

Use a prompt. Look at old photographs. Listen to music. Read a book. Watch people, and write about them.

 

Paint something, anything. Record your siblings around the house, or random people in Walmart. Sing other people’s songs until you find courage to sing your own.

 

Don’t wait for the perfect moment, or the perfect words, or the perfect inspiration.

 

Because how will you ever do anything if you don’t start?

 

 

love,

Zane

 

P.S. I’m actually terrified at posting this because it’s the first really honest post I’ve done but there’s no time to write another one now?? so guess this one’s going up, hope you enjoyed. <3

 

Is beginning hard for you? How are things going for you creatively?