My sister gave me this biography of playwright Wendy Wasserstein for Christmas. It is a masterfully told tale of a complex woman, and a fantastic profile of what it takes to make art. I'd recommend it for anyone interseted in theater, writing, creativity and women making their way in the world.
sharing your work
We write with the hope that other people will one day read our work. The loop isn't closed until we have readers, so it stands to reason that at some point in the creative process, you're going to want to show your work to someone to see if what you imagined in your head has made it onto the page. This can be a terrifying step, and that terror often makes people do things they will later regret. There are two big questions to consider before you let your work see the light of day:
- To whom should I show it?
- When should I show it?
to whom should I show it?
Your instinct is likely going to be to show your work to someone who loves you -- your spouse or partner, your mom or dad. Resist this urge. Just because they love you doesn't automatically make them a good reader of your work. They may be inclined to give it a quick read, declare that you're a genius, and go back to watching Top Chef or playing war games. It's nice to be thought of as a genius , but it's not very useful. If you're serious about your writing, it may feel somewhat empty. You may sense that this person who loves you is saying this not because they actually engaged and responded to the work but because they love you. And then what's likely to happen is that you'll get mad at them for loving you so much that they think everything you do is amazing. Believe me, this is not a good place to be in.
The other scenario that can happen with people who love you is that they take your work, give it a really thorough and intense read, circle every single grammatical, spelling and verb agreement problem you made with a red Sharpie, and then proceed to tell you that they don't like your opening, think your middle is sagging, believe that they have a better idea for your ending, and wonder if you wouldn't be better of spending your time darning socks. Their love, in other words, gives them permission to be honest to a fault. Here you are trying to hear your writers' voice and beat back the doubt raging in your gut, and carve out time from your day to do this work, and in three seconds, the person who loves you slams your efforts. It can be seriously damaging.
Maybe the people who love you happen to be exactly the right people to read your work. The thing to do is make sure you understand that before you make a mistake. In order to do that, make two concentric circles on a blank piece of paper, as follows.
This represents the universe of people to whom you might show your work. The ONLY people who can put in the inner circle are people who support you 100% in every way you need to be supported as a writer. People outside the circles are those who are antogonistic to your work. You can have dogs on this life. You can include people who are no longer alive or who you never actually speak to. The goal is to know with utter clarity who to avoid showing your work to.
In the example, below, Jane is way outside the circle. She may love you in other ways and support you in other ways, but in terms of your writing, she is OUT. John supports you as a writer, but not completely. Maybe he's paying for your writing classes but is completely uninterested in what you're writing. Or maybe he likes what you're writing, but doesn't like that you write instead of being with him. You have to be careful about John to make sure that you don't show your work to him at the wrong moment. (More on this below.) Jack and Janet are 100% supporters. They may be fellow students in a writing class or your yoga teacher or your neighbor. They may be writers themselves, or people who do some kind of creative work, and so understand the process. They could well be your spouse or partner, you mom or dad.
What should you do if there's NO ONE you feel you can put in your inner circle? Make finding a few people your top priority writing goal. And know that this map can change on a daily basis. You may find people moving in or out depending on what you're writing and how it's going. The key is not to show anyone your work who is not in the inner circle.
when should I show it?
coming soon