On Craft…
A few weeks ago, my boss told me something to the tune of, “I am freeing myself from caring.” It was revelatory. I had no idea that was an option. I get myself into so much emotional trouble because I am obsessed with finer details no one else cares about. I feel so isolated in my caring, and it’s not that caring is bad for work… It’s just that when you care too much you stop yourself from making work altogether. There needs to be balance, but first, you need to free yourself from it all at once.
It’s good practice to stop caring at every stage of writing. During the idea phase, stop caring about the final product. Stop caring about how your eventual ideas will be perceived. Just have them. Free yourself from worry and simply exist as a creative entity. This sounds impossible to me. Even as I type this out while the winter sun comes up, I am unsure how to actually achieve these things, but I know they’re important to establishing a smoother writing process.
As you’re writing, stop caring about what your editor will think of your draft. It’s not even done! You can’t edit yourself and write at the same time. Focus on getting your words out. Go a step at a time. That’s what I’m really saying, is to make sure you’re hung up on details as they surface, and not paralyzing yourself by caring about every detail at once. It’s so crucial to let go and move in order. My anxiety manifests in this catastrophic, big-picture-thinking, but nothing is actually happening. You’re just writing—I’m just writing—and everything is fine.
Once you ship off to your editor, stop caring about the piece entirely. Free yourself from worry over the things you did or did not do. It’s out of your hands now. Give yourself a break to worry over the other things we’re naturally neurotic about as writers. Give yourself the space to make something new. When those edits come back, you can resume caring—at least, I hope you would—and make your piece a classic. But everything in due time.
Once a piece is live, stop caring about how it performs on social. Do your due diligence and share it, but don’t sit around waiting for the numbers to run up. The TL does not determine the quality of your writing. That’s between you, the page, your editor, and your nighttime anxiety. Not every piece you love will be a smash hit online. It’s so random what does and does not take off, and I am giving you permission to free yourself from worrying about engagement.
The less you care and the more you open yourself up to simply making and doing, the better your work will be. Expectations are largely in place to hurt your feelings. This all ties back to my idea that perfection is a farce and a waste of time to pursue. Letting go and creating from that well you have within yourself is how you achieve fluidity and lucidity with your work. Care less and create more. That’s the slogan. Apply yourself in time. Stop worrying over everything at once. Let things unfold. Everything else will fall into place as per usual.