bookwormbreakfast:

that in that “What people think I do” meme there’s a “what I think I do” AND a “what I really do” box?

How can those be different? If you know what you really do, doesn’t that become what you think you do? How can you think you do something while knowing that your thinking is wrong and not changing your thinking? Isn’t that like saying “It’s raining but I don’t believe it’s raining?” Isn’t that Moore’s paradox and thus isn’t that, while logically consistent, practically absurd? WHY IS NO ONE ELSE BOTHERED BY THIS?

Because I experience it ALL THE TIME. And I’ve known a lot of artists and creative types who go through it. Some Get It in the end, some don’t. And it depends what mood you’re in, too. Sometimes, what I think I do is write epic, life-changing fic, and what I really do is post a few out-takes and scenes and drabbles. Sometimes what I think I do is churn out a phoned-it-in little short meandering answer for a prompt, and what I really do is have a huge breakthrough about one of the characters.

It can be “what I think I do: scribble a doodle in the back of my notebook. What I really do: create a crack meme that flies around the world.” “What I think I do: splatter paint on a canvas. What I really do: custom artwork for local businesses.” Acknowledging self-doubt, being able to have a clear eye to value your work in spite of the fact that it’s not the best thing you have ever done… It gets complicated. Especially for creative people. Every freakin’ one of them has gone through “But I don’t know how to value my work!” Every. Single. One. And there are a thousand different guides out there for how to do it. And when you get down to it, it’s going to be different for every artist, and for every work. That’s why: it comes down to learning the difference between what you think you do, and what you actually do. For I would say the majority of artists, it’s not a phase you ever really put behind you.