“The moment of completion is also, inevitably, a moment of loss—the loss of all the other forms the imagined piece might have taken. ― David Bayles, Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking I’ve been “almost done” with the first draft of a memoir for over a year now.
God I felt this SO much with my first Table for One issue. I still don’t feel 100% happy with it but off to the printers it’s done! When the time comes you want a beta reader/editor let me know I’d be happy to help!
Oh that would be amazing Aliya! I'd be happy to look at something of yours in exchange, any time. And CONGRATULATIONS on getting the first issue off to the printer! I can't wait to see it!
This feeling is so familiar to me, and I think for me it can also be about fear of rejection - what if I finish something and put it out in the world and I don't get a response, or a different response that what I've hoped for? I've been following along Jami Attenberg's Spring Mini 1000-words-a-day sprint, doing the writing some of the time and lots of the time feeling like I should be doing it, and I really like what you say about committing to doing the work over the next few weeks, even though they might not be the best/most convenient weeks to do it!
Jami Attenberg's book was so inspiring! I want to get my own copy so I can re-read it over & over again when imposter syndrome creeps in. I'd love to join you for two weeks of intentional daily work :)
Those books we can return to over and over are so special. I can see why her book would be one of those--I also got a library copy and am struggling not to be able to underline everything! And yay for intentional daily work!! Maybe I'll start a little chat thread for the folks who are interested, so we can have a little accountability. Stay tuned!
Oh, this is so good! I just posted about overcoming a creative block and one of the things that helped me was consistency in creating at least a tiny bit of art ad a specific time limit also helps a lot (hence the 100 day project). Actually, apart from art I have a lot of post drafts and ideas that are sitting sad and unattended in my Notes app. So I'd be glad to join you and push some of those drafts nearer to completion stage!
I loved reading your post about creative block and found your ideas so helpful for both my weaving and writing practice. I like to organize my studio space yarn shelves when I don't know what to make next. It feels like I'm still showing up for my art even if I'm not ready to make something. And yes yes do join me!! I love the idea of using the last two weeks of March to revisit unfinished (or even unstarted) drafts!!
I’m glad you liked it! Yes, organising is also showing up ❤️ I am happy to join you!! Also I have a little trip planned in the beginning of April, so it will be an additional deadline for me 😅
I can really relate! I’ve been working on a memoir-ish collection of personal essays for about 5 years. And it’s “sort of” finished. I’ve edited and edited and had at least one full critique and edited some more. But the next step (querying agents) is so scary and daunting! I just keep finding other things to do instead. I know there’s underlying fear of rejection. But if I don’t push through it, what was the point of all that work?? I will try to join you in intentional work for those two weeks! Thanks for the inspiration!
Those next steps do feel scary and daunting but dang, sounds like you've made it pretty far in the process! And yay! I'm glad you want to join me for the next two weeks in pushing through some of those final steps and making a little progress!
oof this resonates. I wrote a novel during the pandemic that I've written/revised two drafts of, but which I haven't made any meaningful effort to publish. I've been wondering why and I think a fear of finishing is part of it. It contains a lot of autobiographical material that's heavy for me to revisit, but that's not the only reason it's been in a (digital) drawer for almost 3 years. I'm going to revisit it. And I'm going to trace the pathways of my own 'fear of finishing' and see where it leads me. Thank you for sharing this beautiful piece, Emily. It really made me think.
God I felt this SO much with my first Table for One issue. I still don’t feel 100% happy with it but off to the printers it’s done! When the time comes you want a beta reader/editor let me know I’d be happy to help!
Oh that would be amazing Aliya! I'd be happy to look at something of yours in exchange, any time. And CONGRATULATIONS on getting the first issue off to the printer! I can't wait to see it!
This feeling is so familiar to me, and I think for me it can also be about fear of rejection - what if I finish something and put it out in the world and I don't get a response, or a different response that what I've hoped for? I've been following along Jami Attenberg's Spring Mini 1000-words-a-day sprint, doing the writing some of the time and lots of the time feeling like I should be doing it, and I really like what you say about committing to doing the work over the next few weeks, even though they might not be the best/most convenient weeks to do it!
Ooh yes, that fear of rejection absolutely plays a role for me too, and ties in to that resistance to finishing!!
Jami Attenberg's book was so inspiring! I want to get my own copy so I can re-read it over & over again when imposter syndrome creeps in. I'd love to join you for two weeks of intentional daily work :)
Those books we can return to over and over are so special. I can see why her book would be one of those--I also got a library copy and am struggling not to be able to underline everything! And yay for intentional daily work!! Maybe I'll start a little chat thread for the folks who are interested, so we can have a little accountability. Stay tuned!
Oh, this is so good! I just posted about overcoming a creative block and one of the things that helped me was consistency in creating at least a tiny bit of art ad a specific time limit also helps a lot (hence the 100 day project). Actually, apart from art I have a lot of post drafts and ideas that are sitting sad and unattended in my Notes app. So I'd be glad to join you and push some of those drafts nearer to completion stage!
I loved reading your post about creative block and found your ideas so helpful for both my weaving and writing practice. I like to organize my studio space yarn shelves when I don't know what to make next. It feels like I'm still showing up for my art even if I'm not ready to make something. And yes yes do join me!! I love the idea of using the last two weeks of March to revisit unfinished (or even unstarted) drafts!!
I’m glad you liked it! Yes, organising is also showing up ❤️ I am happy to join you!! Also I have a little trip planned in the beginning of April, so it will be an additional deadline for me 😅
I can really relate! I’ve been working on a memoir-ish collection of personal essays for about 5 years. And it’s “sort of” finished. I’ve edited and edited and had at least one full critique and edited some more. But the next step (querying agents) is so scary and daunting! I just keep finding other things to do instead. I know there’s underlying fear of rejection. But if I don’t push through it, what was the point of all that work?? I will try to join you in intentional work for those two weeks! Thanks for the inspiration!
Those next steps do feel scary and daunting but dang, sounds like you've made it pretty far in the process! And yay! I'm glad you want to join me for the next two weeks in pushing through some of those final steps and making a little progress!
oof this resonates. I wrote a novel during the pandemic that I've written/revised two drafts of, but which I haven't made any meaningful effort to publish. I've been wondering why and I think a fear of finishing is part of it. It contains a lot of autobiographical material that's heavy for me to revisit, but that's not the only reason it's been in a (digital) drawer for almost 3 years. I'm going to revisit it. And I'm going to trace the pathways of my own 'fear of finishing' and see where it leads me. Thank you for sharing this beautiful piece, Emily. It really made me think.