It is easy to get depressed about your own creative efforts when you compare them to other people's creative efforts. There is a children's book writer and artist who has made podcasts about illustration for years. I started following his podcasts when I was first looking for inspiration for writing my own children's books. His name is Shoo Rayner, out of the UK. Lately, after going through some hard knocks in his own life, he has been posting about getting back to the basics to find inspiration to write and illustrate again. I hope he finds his way. I have certainly learned a lot from him.
When I look at other creative people's work, I find it hard to be rational about my own work. The talent and abilities they display are so great in my estimation, and my own seem so lacking. But then again, if we don't get distracted by negative feelings, we can always learn something from them. And if we continue on a learning path, we can grow in our abilities.
The trick is to keep focused on your own goals. Your talents are not the same as someone else's. They are yours. It's up to you to work with them and develop as you can.
Over the years, I have had two big desires.
One is to write Children's Musicals for the youngest actors. But I did not want to "dumb down" the material so much that an adult audience couldn't enjoy the material. And I have especially wanted to provide songs and stories that promote good character values. So, I have been very careful to focus particularly on those things.
The costumes, props, sets designs, overly produced accompaniment tracks, and anything else just had to remain in second, third or last place. My goal was to provide pieces that the youngest actors ages 5-11 could enjoy and learn to perform well. I had to force myself NOT to be discouraged by other people's works that really excelled at all of that other stuff. That could not be my focus.
When I look at other creative people's work, I find it hard to be rational about my own work. The talent and abilities they display are so great in my estimation, and my own seem so lacking. But then again, if we don't get distracted by negative feelings, we can always learn something from them. And if we continue on a learning path, we can grow in our abilities.
The trick is to keep focused on your own goals. Your talents are not the same as someone else's. They are yours. It's up to you to work with them and develop as you can.
Over the years, I have had two big desires.
One is to write Children's Musicals for the youngest actors. But I did not want to "dumb down" the material so much that an adult audience couldn't enjoy the material. And I have especially wanted to provide songs and stories that promote good character values. So, I have been very careful to focus particularly on those things.
The costumes, props, sets designs, overly produced accompaniment tracks, and anything else just had to remain in second, third or last place. My goal was to provide pieces that the youngest actors ages 5-11 could enjoy and learn to perform well. I had to force myself NOT to be discouraged by other people's works that really excelled at all of that other stuff. That could not be my focus.
Another desire I've had is to document the funny family stories we have told in our family for years. I felt that these stories needed to be passed on from generation to generation. I may not be the best artist or storyteller, but I can do my best at passing along these stories through the medium of children's picture books.
I have toyed with the idea of trying to get these storybooks published. I have even sent in a couple manuscripts to be reviewed by editors. Two comments came back, "These are obviously family stories. They lack the general appeal for a national market." And "You should always write in simple prose, not verse."
In one of the Shoo Rayner podcasts, he also commented about how people like to send him stories asking him to illustrate them. He said how hard it is to illustrate a story that is so obviously a family story. It's all about the prospective audience. And sometimes, the only people to appreciate them are the ones who already appreciate the people in the story or understand the "inside" jokes. Obviously, a writer is sometimes not the best judge of his own work or the targeted audience.
Being a composer, I like to write in verse. And, as far as target audience goes, my family is pretty large. I guess I don't really mind keeping my focus on my posterity as my target audience.
Still, I can't help admiring clever people and their amazing works.
I have toyed with the idea of trying to get these storybooks published. I have even sent in a couple manuscripts to be reviewed by editors. Two comments came back, "These are obviously family stories. They lack the general appeal for a national market." And "You should always write in simple prose, not verse."
In one of the Shoo Rayner podcasts, he also commented about how people like to send him stories asking him to illustrate them. He said how hard it is to illustrate a story that is so obviously a family story. It's all about the prospective audience. And sometimes, the only people to appreciate them are the ones who already appreciate the people in the story or understand the "inside" jokes. Obviously, a writer is sometimes not the best judge of his own work or the targeted audience.
Being a composer, I like to write in verse. And, as far as target audience goes, my family is pretty large. I guess I don't really mind keeping my focus on my posterity as my target audience.
Still, I can't help admiring clever people and their amazing works.
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