I just sat down and read Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity
I’m me. Be you.
The first part is so freaking hard for me to stick to. My writing career has taken a weird wonderful path that is so unlike how I thought it would. But even then, it’s treading a path that is at least parallel to authors such as J.C. Hutchins, Matt Wallace, Christiana Ellis, Matthew Wayne Selznick, and Philippa Ballantine to name a few – podcast your work, build your audience, get noticed by publishers. But each of us has a different story, different publishers, different plans for the future.
Sometimes I get down and think that I wish my career or my writing or my skills were more like that of any number of authors. I wish even that I could have their fighting spirit, or their fearlessness, or their compassion. But down that road is madness.
I’m me. I’m not them. I’m me and I’m going to have the career I’m going to have. The minute I start trying to be like them, I become untrue to myself and could even squash my natural skillset, a skillset that has proven to work for me, if I could just stop whining and open my eyes. Can I take cues from my peers? Sure! It’s wise to learn from people with experience. But there’s a difference between learning from someone and trying to force their carbon copy onto your unique person. It just won’t work. At best, you’ll be seen as a copy, at worst, you’ll fall flat on your face.
So be you. When you write that book, write your book. When you decide how to release it, decide what’s best for you. When you decide how to promote it, decide what fits you best. When you decide how to communicate with your audience, do what fits your personality. Learn from your peers, but BE YOU.
Writing prompt for June 13: Begin writing a scene. The moment you stop writing to think about what to say next, write, “what I really want to say is-” and get going. Maybe you’ll continue. Maybe you’ll end up writing the scene you were meant to write. It surprises your mind into being more honest.
Video of the day: Being you can be scary. But neat things can happen when you’re you. (watch till the end. It’s so worth it.)
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10 Responses to I’m me. Be you.
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Hey Mur,
That’s pretty much the process I had to go through. I felt like I “had” to publish my own stuff because that’s just what felt right for me. But if I’d listened to the noise around me, I would have gone the other way. And I don’t think I’d be happy that way, even with a contract.
And I love that video. Saw it on Seth Godin’s blog. Definitely I want to be “the third guy” for someone.
Really great advice Mur. So hard to do but so completely true.
I’ll have to go check out that book. Whenever I can find good books to help me concentrate on myself and how to be the best I can be I like to share them. So thanks for sharing this one. 
Being part of the crowd is almost harder sometimes then just being yourself.
Wow, Mur. I can’t tell you how much I’m digging this. In a truly profound way it’s true about everything, not just writing. Comparing myself to other women my age, other mothers, wives, daughters, sisters… It’s a never ending stream of comparison and harsh self-judgment.
Thank you for sharing.
Great advice, Mur, but I just wanted to thank you for posting that video because that’s the best thing I’ve seen all week. That dude is my new hero, love it.
Terrible advice. Mathematically unsound. Here’s the quick mathematical proof:
Number of books I’ve published: 0
Number of books Mur has published: 2
Number of books I’d have published if I were Mur: 2
Quod erat demonstradum (literally: “you can’t argue with Latin”), being you would be a step up, careerwise.
Thank you for posting about “Ignore Everybody.” I’m going to look for a copy of that next week!
It amazes me how often I hear writers I admire say they feel down about their work, or they feel insignificant when they compare their writing and their careers to other authors. I know *I* feel that way from time to time. I don’t write what most publishers are interested in for my genre, and I used to worry that I would never get published because of that. But when I tried to write differently, it didn’t work out. So, like you suggested here, I buried my head in my own stories and did my own thing. And I got published anyway.
At Balticon last month, I think Phil Rossi mentioned that he hated reading about other people’s successes on Twitter. It made him feel bad about his work, like he would never have that success. I almost wanted to smack him for it, because he’s written Crescent, one of my favorite books. But I understood what he meant. And I understand what you mean too, even as I suppress the urge to smack you because you’ve also written one of my favorite books
I echo Helen’s sentiments. I’ve read or listened to alot of your works and am amazed at your talent. It’s sort of stunning to read about your self doubts, as the Mur I’ve seen is the opposite of that. You keep writing, I promise I’ll keep reading/listening. Deal?
THANK YOU! The post combined with that video is better than most of the sermons I’ve heard over the years. Brings back a good memory from a seminar I was a part of after the final session of part one (as the dance music starts playing), “Hear the music and let you body do what it wants.”
Again, thank you for that thought inducing post.
Mur,
Writers are lonely people. Writers who dont write are even more lonely or loonier. Thanks for all the advice.
Mur, you inspire me.