rose-streif: Waking the Beast I call it The Beast for several reasons. The creative side of an indiv
rose-streif: Waking the Beast I call it The Beast for several reasons. The creative side of an individual, left to its natural state, is untamed, erratic, sometimes disturbing. It takes discipline to bend it into a useful shape, to curb its worst impulses and teach it to speak clearly. Each person’s Beast takes a different form. Mine tends to be dark, ironic, and Romantic (with a capital R, as in the movement.) And it goes to sleep when work comes calling. It cannot seem to coexist with reality, even though it colors my everyday life with its sentiments, and is deeply inspired by daily experience. When I began publishing, I believed that I could balance my creative life with work. I was quite wrong. My Beast requires my undivided attention. When I am at work on an anthology, it slips away to that dark recess that it calls home. And calling it back out can be difficult. Its ears are keen to doubts, and anyone with a history of bullying and abuse is alive with them: the tumbling self-criticisms, the snide words of poisonous Others, the opprobrium of a society that values entertainment but not those who are learning to provide it, the creative resentment of those who Desire but cannot Do, or who covet the ideas of others. Our brains are wired to focus on negativity; it is an old survival trait, for good things aren’t likely to kill us. And those of us with Beasts are more sensitive still. We tell ourselves to grow a suit of armor, that any hurt is actually our own fault for allowing it. We are discouraged from defending ourselves. But abuse can give us something better than armor: a thicker skin, one that still bleeds, but mends swiftly. We’re braver than others. We dare to create, when others paralyze themselves for fear of drawing negativity. We’re used to it. Our Beasts are tougher than others, for they are survivors, and while they may need some coaxing after they have been allowed to retreat back into their caves, they will come. There are many methods of drawing them back out. Some need only the opportunity to sing. Some need to be reminded of themselves, so a person might review their own work or do some editing–this is my method. Others might be awakened by something inspiring, by a great book or some other work of art. And some require the encouragement of others, a person or persons who are willing to talk it over and give advice. Some people try to run their Beasts into the ground. But unless you have a deadline to meet, don’t. You will risk creative exhaustion…it is not all going to disappear because you stopped working for a moment. If you are an incurable workaholic, try shifting to a lower gear, or rekindling interest with a new project. If you are capable of giving it a rest, then read. Learn. Get to know someone else’s Beast for a change, even if you must inevitably compare it with your own. Creative people are an incredibly self-absorbed bunch, but we cannot allow ourselves to stay that way all the time, for it is a sort of prison. And every Beast is a social creature. Let it roam, and it may return to you with something beautiful to share. -- source link
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