No phrase has killed more dreams than “what will people say?”
Any person who has ever put themselves or their work in the public sphere has been concerned with how it will be received. It can be paralyzing for any creative, but especially if you know the themes you work with may be controversial. It can lead to writers engaging in self-censorship, evasive expression, aversion to taking risks in their writing, second-guessing themselves, being afraid to say what they feel.
The need to be liked is a very human thing. Writers, like any other people, can attempt to balance their need for approval with their need to be true to themselves. Most writers want to connect with their readers positively while staying authentic.
Maybe you’re a writer who wants to share childhood trauma but are afraid it may reflect negatively on your parents, maybe you have a political viewpoint you want to put across but are afraid of being judged if you write it. For any writer who desires to tell a story, but holds back because of what people will say, here’s some advice:
Write anyway. Why? Because:
1) You Can’t Please Everyone
And you don’t have to. That’s a huge burden to take upon yourself. Universal acceptance is rare. There will always be people who may not like your work and that’s okay. Your writing is for whoever it resonates with. It’s unrealistic to expect it will appeal to every, single person.
2) You’re Adding To Your Genre
We are not clones of each other. We have different opinions and viewpoints. Different takes on life and living. And that’s the beautiful diversity of humankind. Putting your writing, even if its controversial, out in the world, adds to the body of work in your genre. It can provide a competing view or a fresh angle, even if its unpopular.
3) It Helps You Confront the Fear
It helps to explore the fear that is holding you back. Oftentimes, it can be unresolved issues which one hasn’t confronted or insecurities one hasn’t worked through. My earlier poetry has a lot of evasiveness because I was conscious of what I could or could not say as a result of childhood conditioning. I had to work through what boldness in writing meant to me and how I could bring that to the page. It made me a stronger writer and provided necessary catharsis in the bargain.
4) Many Great Works Started Out as Unpopular Opinions
Bertrand Russell wrote, “Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”
Think of the great writers – some of them imprisoned or persecuted for their ideas – who did not shy away from writing their truth. Who wrote masterpieces around sensitive themes, whose books got banned but who weren’t afraid of claiming their voice, even taking on tyrannical regimes or systems. Write your piece.
5) There Are Readers For Your Writing
Writing is connection. Stories provide a sense of community, relevancy, relatability. For every writer, there are readers that need a story that speaks to them, to their imagined and lived experiences. For every person who may criticize your writing, there is a reader with whom it will resonate. Being afraid to share your writing means never connecting with the people you are writing for. It means withholding your art from people who could find connection with it.
6) You Can Employ Literary Devices
You can mask your stories through any number of literary devices: fictionalized accounts, playing with point of view, perspective, chronology, allegory, using a nom de plume…
There are tools at a writer’s disposal that can help you tell your story without feeling vulnerable.
Don’t stop writing! Until next time.
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