[DAY 11 OF THE DEEP END PROJECT]
Every Morning after my kids have left for school, I write 3 pages of Morning Pages on 750words.com.
Yes, I can hand write in a journal but I like the satisfaction of being told that my 750 words (which is roughly 3 pages) are done and I get a green check mark.
For many months, that’s all the writing I did. I wrote about something and that’s it.
Then, when I started the 120 days project, I started writing in addition to 750 words.
First, I let all the gunk out of my system on 750words.com. Then, I write for the Deep End Project.
Don’t ask me why I do that. I just do.
Some days, ideas flow to me easily. I am able to write the whole thing in 10 mins flat. And some days, writing even one sentence is hard.
That day is today.
It’s 3:42 pm. I’ve opened and closed my google doc a million times already.
When this happens, I know that I have broken the cardinal rule of The Deep End Project.
And that is, I am thinking about them.
What will they think?
How will they perceive it?
Will it suck?
Will it go viral?
How many comments will it get?
Will I be trolled?
Would someone call me out and “cancel me?”
I have to remind myself why I started this project and what it’s about – SELF EXPRESSION!
I also have to remember these golden words by Liz Gilbert (Shout out to my friend Marisa Corcoran for reigniting it in me!)
“Recognizing that people’s reactions don’t belong to you is the only sane way to create. If people enjoy what you’ve created, terrific. If people ignore what you’ve created, too bad. If people misunderstand what you’ve created, don’t sweat it. And what if people absolutely hate what you’ve created? What if people attack you with savage vitriol, and insult your intelligence, and malign your motives, and drag your good name through the mud? Just smile sweetly and suggest – as politely as you possibly can – that they go make their own fucking art. Then stubbornly continue making yours.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
On that note, go create your own art. Eff it up. Make it messy. Spend hours on it. Love it up. Get obsessed with it.
Your art is for you.
My art is for me.
Let’s keep creating.