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Go Inward, Go Onward
“As you unfold as an artist, just keep on, quietly and earnestly, growing through all that happens to you. You cannot disrupt this process more violently than by looking outside yourself for answers that may only be found by attending to your innermost feeling.” — Rainer Maria Rilke
It’s so easy to get caught up in the external concerns of being a writer. Agents and managers. Contests and competitions. Writing assignments and pitches. What will THEY think? How can I get THEIR attention?
For a screenwriter or TV writer, those are obvious and legitimate points of focus. Ultimately, however, as a CREATIVE, the source of any hope in the pragmatic world of THEM is by “attending to your innermost feeling”.
You. Your Creative Self. That’s where your Unique Voice lies. Each of us brings a LIFETIME of experiences… memories… feelings… passions… distinct to the individual. No one else can duplicate the contours, the ups and downs of our own life course.
Look to that to guide your creative choices. Look WITHIN. If you trust in who you ARE… in who you are BECOMING… and “quietly and earnestly” continue to work at the craft on a daily basis… the external concerns will sort themselves out.
Yes, we have to live in that world of politics and decisions and other personalities, no getting around that.
But never forget the seat of creativity lies within. Make sure you spend time there, dwelling for a while WITHIN yourself.
“Nothing alien happens to us, but only what has long been our own… What we call fate comes not from outside us but from within.” — Rainer Maria Rilke
Go inward, go onward.
