The curse of a creative / Happenings In The Outhouse 23-March-2018

Last week, I wrote on how life experiences can enhance one's art.

Expanding on that notion, this young person whom I spoke about recently created something that involved a school shooting which, in his mind, shouldn't have been taken seriously.  Well, many people in his community did.  This young person even had three law enforcement officers visit with him, asking him to take his creative work down.  Especially in light of recent events, even if it isn't to be taken seriously and meant to only highlight how our society is heading, he saw the gravity of the situation and rectified it.

This begs the question of a curse.  The curse of a creative.  A few members of this young person's family are trying desperately to discover why he created what he did, and even went as far as to say that evil resides in him--which is a horrible thing to say, given that we're all sinners and no one is perfect.

No question about it, the tragedy in recent events are horrible.  But blame the person, not the objects used or those around him.  Only this piece of crap is to blame.

Going back to the young person I spoke about: what if he wrote a song about a person who was bullied in school, humiliated beyond all manner of comprehension?  Then, this person develops a supernatural skill, and uses that skill to exact the greatest revenge upon those bullies, massacring them to a fiery death.

Should the young person write a song like this?  I know many would say, "Of course not!"

But it already has been created.  Not a song, but a book.  A book that started a career for one of the bestselling authors of our time.  This book, whom he wrote about a dozen pages and threw them away, was fished out of the trash by his wife.  She wiped the cigarette ashes from it, read it, and told him to go on.

The story?

Carrie.

The author?

Stephen King.

We, as creatives, walk a fine line between what he can do and what we should.

But as I ask this young person mentioned above: what is the purpose for the art you're trying to create?  Lead with your heart.  Not clicks, likes, mentions, or quick fame.

On a side note, bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith wrote an interesting blog post this week that pretty much sums the best advice I've ever seen as far as writing (or simply creative) is concerned.  It's titled Writers As Whiners.  Please read it.  Well worth it. In fact, subscribe to his blog so you get a dose of Dean's thoughts everyday.  The best quote from this post: "My contract deadlines always came first. How did I power through?  Simple. I stopped whining and just did the writing. Writers, by our very nature, are whiners. And lazy and full of excuses. Pretty much all of us."