"I'd always been writing, but I didn't know whether I knew how to write."
Someone who has been writing for the last 10 years used these words, and I had to pause to think. Is it possible to do something but be completely unaware of whether you are doing it correctly or not?
On the one hand, I can understand the viewpoint, having experienced similar self-doubt with dancing and writing and cooking. One can write from the time you learn to use a word and a pen, and one can hold dance like a secret lover, in whispered confidence and moonlight trysts. But are either of those- unrelenting practice or a cherished idea- enough to make one a writer or a dancer? I am easily annoyed by people who use words carelessly, who think of themselves as writers but have not learned to cast a sentence effectively. People that claim to love words (or dance) but have no clue what power they hold are to me like children left in charge of power plants- Seriously dangerous to the plant and to themselves.
On the other hand, I believe self-aware confidence and work can make anyone achieve anything. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be doing what I do. Believe in your heart that you know nothing about writing and have much to learn, but believe also in your limitless potential to learn. There are all shades of writers and dancers in the world. The writer who has stopped learning is the one who does not know whether they know how to write. I think that applies to most professions.
5 comments:
I agree with the need for a self-aware confidence, but I think sometimes such questions arise not out of self-doubt or self-awareness necessarily, but because one is so consumed in their passion that they don't look up to evaluate their work, or even know the metrics of "worthiness"...if that makes sense!
I am reminded of self-taught (or "natural") musicians and artists on the street to whom singing or drawing with a chalk is as natural as breathing, that they have never seriously considered what they are doing. They wouldn't know which parts of their songs are good, which conform to rules, which ones don't, which aspects were technically sound etc....And would never be able to dissect/evaluate any other song they hear, except to classify them as good or bad.
I think talent for the most part is very tacit and intuitive. And when it's tried to be analyzed and picked (or judged) to form rules and metrics, questions such as the one you posted, sometimes surface. And from the above artist's standpoint, it is also a matter of ignorance or naivete.
I agree with Neeraja here. Self aware confidence is good, but I think its very good to keep doing something for a while without knowing if we are good at it or not. I am always thrilled to find people who are really talented, but aren't aware of it themselves :-) I guess I find the the innocence and naivete refreshing !
I agree with both of you actually :). I like the idea of self-taught musicians- that hadn't occurred to me (being as tone-deaf as I am ;)).
I think a healthy paranoia/ self-doubt would be a better term for what I meant. I think most interests begin without much thought, but when one chooses to do something at a more serious level than just 'time-pass', it's important to judge your own work and improve it based on your own evaluation. I don't condone conceit, but neither do I appreciate 'natural' talents that are too blind to be aware of a need for practice or improvement..:)
I don't know what I can add here but somewhere i do think that I agree with all of you in elements.
@ Second sight: I completely agree with you on this line and that's what keeps me dabbling with most things, irrespective of how "good" i am... "Believe in your heart that you know nothing about writing and have much to learn, but believe also in your limitless potential to learn. :
But it is also true that one needs to indulge in something for the pure passion of it, because it brings them joy. I would rather appreciate someone who has worked and overcome his limitations at becoming good than someone who was born gifted but never took the pains to improve.
But the improvisation I am talking about is with respect your past performance not with the world or the absolute as the standard. That's what should define our passion right - what we do for our self not to satisfy a social metric ??
Su- I agree completely :).Though honestly, I can't think of any geniuses that I look up to who were "born with it". Except perhaps people famous for physical attributes, like Audrey Hepburn or something?
An individual's path to improvement is a very personal one, yes- But if we were to look at how we choose to improve, I think we do rely on 'social' metrics. And I don't think there is anything wrong with it- Otherwise every musician would have to spend decades of introspection just to understand and assimilate the most elemental notes!
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