Dear Artists…

Allowing your imagination to shape the words on paper is a true superpower. Creating a world outside of reality and allowing another people to encapsulate themselves in your creativity is a true gift. But like all superpowers, they come with great responsibilities. Like superman, we still must humanize our artistic gifts to reach the full potential. As a writer, I have learned and still learning a lot about how we as a collective must regulate ourselves so we can use our gift as we were intended. From my present and personal experience, creating clear internal rules and boundaries can help develop the writer and their craft. What I am presently learning about being a writer is if we want to have an authentic creative experience, we must get rid of all distractions, taking time with your craft and working together with other writing peers. By eliminating distractions, slowing your pace and networking, we as writers can build our character while developing craft with greater intention.

  It’s 6 a.m. and your alarm clock goes off in the morning. You open your eyes and immediately you are on autopilot. You get ready for your day. After you’ve ate breakfast, made your lunch, showered, brushed your teeth and put on clothes, you noticed that you have an hour to spare. What do you do? In times like this, I found myself scrolling on social media. I would waste so much time looking for funny videos and watching other people’s lives while mine passed by. I had begun to do this so much, it became a routine. I then began to change emotionally toward myself and my gift, writing. I felt as though I wasn’t doing enough and social media wasn’t the best therapist. Instead of me seeking something that could help develop me as a writer, I began to compare myself to others. I was comparing myself to those who weren’t even in my field let alone writers. What I wasn’t aware of, was that I was slipping back into a depression. My love for writing had become shameful. I started to feel like I couldn’t be as big as others because my craft wasn’t visual or sonically attractive. However, there was still a mustard seed of faith that I could be just as great as those who are sharing their talent and gifts. On August 9th I got to a breaking point. One day, I woke up and decided to take the lead in my own life. Instead of working on autopilot, I decide to set clear boundaries for myself and take full accountability for my craft and career path. I decided to put my focus on writing platforms such as Contra, Substack, Linked-in and Reddit. I decided that I am worthy and valuable. I realized that I did have something to say and It was my duty to show people, implant my words in their brain, and shove my writing in their face. I became hungry enough to remove all the distractions that were not helping me grow or my writing. It is still a working progress. I want to let you know in advance, you will have some short comings. We are human and we all need a little bit of distraction from the seriousness of the real world. But the question is, will you be able to recognize when it’s enough? Can you put the phone down? The way to truly execute creating discipline as a writer is to learn when the outside noise has become louder than your voice. Whether its music, Baddies on Zues Network, or your favorite influencer, sometimes you have to step away from what once occupied your attention and make room for the person you are becoming.

 You have to take your time. Nothing happens overnight. We see a lot of people on social media giving advice on how to reach success. Influencers will reel you in, give you this long list of things to do, and leave you to the sharks to make it happen. What they don’t tell you is, is that you have to take it step by step. Being able to see a large goal is great, but taking the micro steps to that larger goal is the true success. Being a proactive over thinker, I would always set these huge goals. The goals would be practical and tangible. However, because I was listening to outside advice and not truly focusing on the goal, I lacked personal structure and time management in regard to my writing. I would get these great ideas and work on them for a few days. It felt like I was high on life. I was moving fast and not documenting any of my actions. In the mist of me trying to reach the particular goal, I would miss important steps. I would then get overwhelmed because I didn’t take my time to properly research the steps to my specific goal. I had begun to do this so much, I started to feel like I was running away from my dreams and not running toward them. I didn’t want to miss my train to success all because I didn’t know how to manage myself and time. So, to fix this I had begun to take a step back and reflect on my past projects. What I found from my analyzation was that I was not performing at my best due to my quickness to get everything done. I started to change how I started a project. Presently, I begin with research first. I have to know what I am getting myself into and who also have had experiences on the particular project. Next, I log into my online planning tool, gather my pen and note-pad and start documenting the micro steps needed to reach my goals. For example, I write down my username and password, what subscription I have, what Subscription I will need in the next coming month, what images I should create, etc. I use an online planning tool to help outline what I need to do for the particular project, and I real time notate what I am doing so I can reflect on how much I have accomplished. See the key was never the hare, it was always the tortoise. The hare was fast and would get tired quickly. The hare would also find itself being distracted. However, the Tortoise had a steady focus. The tortoise new the finish line was always going to be there. He just needed to take his time. The Hare learned that the slower pace always wins the race.

  Networking is a great way for exposure. A simple night out to a poetry lounge or library can change your entire dynamic and belief as a writer. Yes, we do have this gift. Yes, we are granted different perspectives on how we perceive the world. But it is those different perspectives that allow more people to gravitate and engage with ones writing. Putting myself out there allowed me to connect with other writers who gave me amazing pointers and opened my eyes to new writing skills. Having a writer’s group or close friends who consider themselves writers allows you to share work and receive friendly critiques that will develop your writing skills. Working with others over time, helps you also build a stronger character as well. Coming face to face with edits, working hand and hand on structure and discussing topics provokes a sense of writer’s awareness. Writer’s awareness allows you to take responsibility and accountability for how your work is received by others. Having important people in your life who you trust to provide critiques also prepares you for the harsh realities of publishing. As writers, our work is our baby and it’s hard to hand our baby off to a daycare rather than a close friend. However, Due to me making the effort to build a writers circle, I will have more clarity on how it may feel to release my work to others to criticize. The beauty of the critiques is the outcome. Intentionally seeking people who critiques to benefit your writing will assist you with staying on the train toward success.

Space, time, and opportunities are so valuable. If we as writers don’t allow ourselves the space and time to set boundaries, we may lose ourselves along the way. We have to sit down and be disciplined enough to reach our goals. However, just because you are disciplined doesn’t mean you are taking the proper steps to reach them. Taking our time allows us as writers to understand the micro and macro steps needed to intentionally reach our goals. Another way to intentionally move toward those goals is to network and build relationships with other writers. Having a community of writers who support, and critique one’s craft allows us to receive revisions, discuss topics, and grow structurally as writers. Being a writer is a forever-evolving experience. Learning to have discipline, patience, and an openness to networking was not an overnight success for me. It is something I am still learning. But perhaps that is the responsibility that comes with the superpower. We have to intentionally use our gift, patiently cultivate our craft, and remain open to the people and experiences that help us grow. Success as a writer may not happen overnight, but continuing to cultivate your gift can give you something even more valuable: Longevity.

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