Big magic - creative living behind fear

A few weeks ago I came across a book titled Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I hadn't known of the book before, and it blew me away.  The book's subtitle is 'creative living beyond fear', and there is so much in its chapters that relates directly to my process as a writer.

She talks about creative living being 'a path for the brave'.  I've never thought of myself as brave, but for the past forty years I have written fiction.  I've created story after story, working nearly every day of that time. Most of that time I've just lost myself in the fun and the process of writing because, to quote George again, (a) I'm afraid that I'll be ignored and rejected, (b) because somebody else already told my stories better than I can, and (c) I'm afraid my work isn't important enough to change anyone's life.

No wonder submission is such a bitter pill to swallow!  It's a wonder I've ever overrode those fears at all.  Sometimes I've retreated into what George calls "the quiet glory of merely making things."

'Quiet glory'.  What a fabulous expression.  And as an introvert that phrase rings even more true with me.  She also has another saying I love: 'a dazzled heart'.  I have occasionally felt the dazzlement that comes from being in the flow, from being guided as I write.

But the part of the book that really chimed with me was when she talked about originality versus authenticity.  To quote Elizabeth Gilbert again: "...the older I get, the less impressed I become with originality.  These days, I'm far more moved by authenticity."  Yes!  Especially yes because I'm reading and writing SF.

So much of what I read in the genre is labelled as "dazzlingly original".  And an awful lot of those stories end up on my "oh, is that it?" pile.  They're irritatingly gimmicky, or the idea is a conceit which really isn't strong enough to hold the story up.  "...If it's authentic enough... It will feel original," George says.  And it's that authenticity that I look for in stories, and often don't find.

I'm currently working on a novel which I love, but which I've never submitted anywhere.  Why?  Because it's a cross between the stories of two of my favourite SF authors.  That makes it derivative, doesn't it?  But putting my hand on my heart I can honestly say that my story is authentic.  So it's time to claim the authenticity of my work, and let the Big Magic that created it help me to find a publisher for it.  This time, when I've finished the edits, the book's going out on submission.