Moving In Silence Is Bulls*it
Are you a person who feels like they need to “make moves in silence?”
(If so, you are not alone — it’s very common for creatives to keep their work to themselves, especially during the early stages!)
But, in the interest of causing just a little bit of chaos this morning,
This article is my argument against keeping your cards close to your chest all the time — and instead, sharing your work, your struggles, and your thoughts with people who care.
(Run with me on this, I know it’s scary but I promise I have a valid point here)
Some much-needed context
When I say “moving in silence,” I am referring to keeping a creative or personal project to yourself until it becomes big enough or successful enough to be worthy to share.
(Hi, hello fellow perfectionists, welcome to something we are very, very aware of already).
Unfortunately, the phrase has become a mantra of sorts with douchey sigma gym bros trying to out-masculine each other by showing as little emotion and empathy as possible.
(Also, for some reason, these posts always contain a picture of a lion?? IDK what that is about but OK)
It’s giving, I’m 15 and this is DEEP
And while I think there definitely is validity to not just blasting every single one of your opinions, hopes, and dreams aimlessly into the void of social media,
(We all know and have muted someone who does this),
I think “moving in silence” does creative people a disservice in limiting their access to support and encouragement from people who genuinely care.
(And trust me, after working on creative work in isolation for years, it’s SO MUCH EASIER to do hard things when you have people in your corner).
It doesn’t have to be perfect to be worth sharing
Being a creative person involves sharing a part of you every time you publish or share work,
(Even if that work is for a client, though I personally find work I publish under my own name carries a heavier weight).
And so, when you are starting something new or are working on something that is challenging you,
It’s super easy to “work in silence” until you figure it out or “have something worthwhile” to share.
But, I would like to challenge that line of thought with this instead:
The people who care about your work don’t care about it being perfect — they are just happy to support you along the way.
Over the past few years of running my own business, I have been super lucky to grow a small but incredibly lovely community of people who care about my work,
And every time I go out of my way to share my work in progress,
(Whether that’s thoughts, frustrations, or rough drafts of things I am tinkering with),
I am met with nothing but kindness, encouragement, and supportive questions that never fail to make me feel better.
So yes — I can acknowledge that it is hard to share things that you don’t feel are “ready” or “perfect,”
But taking the plunge to talk about my unfinished work,
(Especially the large, nebulous projects that seem almost impossible to finish),
Has been my secret to actually giving myself permission to try new things.
(And boy, do I ever have a perfect example of this principle to end this article!)
The point of this whole dang post
Basically, this is a long-winded post amping myself up to share that I have started another project that I would like to share with you all.
(And I’m really, really excited about it!)
So, without further ado…
A few months ago, after many months of dragging my feet, I started casually writing some romantic fiction.
(Just some silly little stand-alone scenes, but it was so fun!)
And after doing that on and off for a while, I finally decided to commit to giving it a real college try — which is how I started my WRITE THE DAMN BOOK substack.
Basically, I am using this platform as a journal as I push myself to write a medical-themed contemporary romance novel.
(Yes, I am writing sexy romance content about an OR nurse and hot surgeon. HELL YAAA LET’S GOOOO)
Am I terrified of this project? Yes.
Does sending this email make me want to fling my laptop into the nearest active volcano I can find? Also yes.
Can I say with confidence that I will finish this project and that it will ever see the light of day? No, but like, also kind of maybe?
So yeah — in the spirit of sharing my work and discussing the authentic experience of the ups and downs of producing creative work, I am cordially inviting you to follow my free Substack if you are interested.
If you like my writing and are OK receiving an extra email or two from me every once in a while, please subscribe.
Hope this inspires you to talk more candidly about your work — even the work you haven’t completed yet — because you deserve to be supported and cheered on along the way!
Until next week,