Recently I was talking with a musician friend about artist communities. The conversation came up because he was telling me about how he occassionally feels sabotage efforts coming from other artists; whether they are intentional or not is hard to tell. Not all the time but just the occassional negative act that changes the dynamic of what you want or expect in a community of your creative peers. And I retold some experiences I've had with writers/artists becoming very competitive, if you can find a writing community in the first place. Which has always been my frustration, finding a group of writers to regularly share critique with. Then another friend, a true graphic artist, mentioned how she looked to other artists to learn from but sometimes they were loathe to share their knowledge. Despite these negative experiences, I still strongly believe in and support communities of artists. In fact, even our very bitching, across different genres, constitutes an artist community. We get to vent, we get to share ideas, and we get support.
That brought me, in a roundabout way, to the myth of the remote cabin. You know, it's the idea for writers that you should go off into the woods so you can "work without distractions"? (It's very popular in movies, usually to the benefit of some deranged killer or other.) And while it is a really tempting proposition – who wouldn't want to get away from the every day items that piss you off, take up time, drag you down, and generally distract you from creating? – in reality I don't think it works. I think it's a great idea, but I've found when I'm alone too much my creative inspiration starts to dry up. I start to feel stifled instead of liberated, and trapped by expectation, and god forbid you get writer's block when you're by yourself. I get so many ideas and incentive from talking with/reading/listening to other creative people I can't imagine working in a bubble of isolation. And I constantly crave feedback and critique; I think it helps me grow. Maybe this is just the way I personally work. Even though sometimes I do long for isolation… it sounds wonderful! Getting to write first thing in the morning instead of fixing breakfast for a kid with pink eye and cleaning up cat puke (insert your personal pain in the ass routines here), why wouldn't that sound great? But then there are those other times when I am so inspired and encouraged by interacting with others (even remotely through books or viewing art) that I decide to stay in the ring of shared community – even if the distractions dramatically cut down my time to write.
So that made me wonder, since all bloggers are essentially writers, who may be creating other art as well, and they are part of blogging communities, what are your preferences? Communities or cabins? What makes you feel the most inspired and/or the most likely to finish your projects?
And I guess an even more relevant question when it comes to blogging… does sitting in front of a computer make you feel more or less isolated? Could the Internet be a log cabin?
– wg
Very good questions!
I write in a cabin, but for the community. If there were no cabin, I couldn’t write. But if there were no community, I wouldn’t write.
Though I can write blog posts and comments at the computer, I can’t write poems or stories this way–I have to write them as drafts, in my easy chair, in pencil. Then I take them to the PC and revise and polish them. If I sit in front of the PC, and try to write a poem or story, I feel intimidated by the machine.
And the Internet can be a log cabin–there has to be a balance between the virtual community of the Internet and the “real” community of face-to-face interaction in one’s life. And honestly, I haven’t found this balance, though I’m working on it.
Scott – I was thinking today, too, that the popularity element kind of changes the dynamic. Writing on the internet should be like writing for a class of peers. Except the whole “like”, “followers”, “friends” part of social media adds in a competitiveness that might not normally be apparent or active. I think that part of the internet can make you feel like you’re part of something bigger or still on the fringes.
I’ve been listening to a new album lately. It’s by The Belle Brigade. Apparently it’s their first album so, of course, the album is also called The Belle Brigade. I think I’ll name my first album, “Anything Other Than My Band’s Name”.