Being brave

It wasn't until I started reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic and Doreen Virtue's The Courage to be Creative that I came across the idea of writers being brave.  Elizabeth Gilbert talks about having 'the courage to bring forth the jewels that are hiding within you.'  What a lovely phrase!  'Creative living is a path for the brave' she says.  Doreen Virtue talks about not playing it safe with our projects.  'You can't water down your original idea to make it conform with "normal"' she says.

This got me thinking about the idea of voice again.  Just today someone in one of the writing Facebook groups I belong to posted a link to an article where an agent wanted a 'fresh, captivating voice'.  Like me, the members of that group are veterans of the submissions process.  Most of them, like me, have been generally falling at it.  The comments on that post range from the cynical about wanting young  attractive authors to 'they have no idea what they're looking for'.  Which gives you some idea of the frustration we all feel about the process.

So how do we get this 'fresh' voice?  One of the ways is by being brave enough to say what we really think in our writing, in our unique way.  'Your creativity must still reflect your genuine emotions and thoughts' Doreen Virtue says.  'Which means you're going to put your vulnerable, naked and real feelings on display.'  Yikes!  Talk about being brave.

Like most writers, I'm an introvert.  And introverts don't blurt out their life story within five minutes of meeting someone new.  We're private people, and we prefer to keep our opinions on things private too.  Which poses somewhat of a problem when we're trying to convince an agent that we have that 'fresh' new voice,

Another form of bravery is coming to be required of writers too.  Especially in the science fiction and fantasy genre, the emphasis is on diversity.  Several publishers are especially encouraging submissions  from writers in the LGBT+ community.  But I think if I was a gay person who had suffered discrimination   because of my sexuality I might well be reluctant to identify as gay to a publisher.  They mean well, but I'm not sure they understand how difficult publically self-identifying as something can be.

It seems that being brave is becoming a job requirement for writers.  Whether it be putting our vulnerable, naked and real feelings out there, or claiming our sexuality publically.  Publishing, it seems, is for the brave these days.