Today's quote:~We have to look at our own inertia, insecurities, self-hate, fear that, in truth, we have nothing valuable to say. When your writing blooms out of the back of this garbage compost, it is very stable. You are not running from anything. You can have a sense of artistic security. If you are not afraid of the voices inside you, you will not fear the critics outside you.~Natalie Goldberg

My thoughts:~I just love this quote.  Especially the last line.  We as artists, individuals, writers, and just people in general need to quit being so chicken shitted and be true to our inner selves and muses.  If you are doing something from the heart, something that in truth stems from your very core, you should have nothing to fear.  I think when we try to force something that we truly don't feel, when the attempt is half hearted and lackluster...it comes across as that.  Shoddy, rushed, cheap...and lack luster.  If you do not feel and take pride in what you do...others will sense that.  If you have no passion in what you are doing or are holding yourself back out of fear...your heart is not really in it, and others can not be expected to embrace something with passion that you yourself can not. 

If you do something fearlessly and you take pride in it and only a handful of people truly appreciate it besides yourself...tell everyone else to fuck off and savor the TRUE feeling of self accomplishment you will have.  That and the TRUE fans of your work.  If you are putting out a product that is not truly YOU or how YOU feel and millions of people love you; these people still are not a true fan of you.  They are a fan of the part of you you compromised and sold short.  NEVER do that to yourself.  It might take longer, but your fan base will grow and you will never have to masquerade and feel uncomfortable with yourself or your writing.  You will not be a sell out.  STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF AND WHO YOU ARE!  STAY true to your work and your writing. Do not be afraid of who you are and what you feel...THRIVE on this and let that light shine through!  Instead of being just another dull ray, you can be a beacon for others.  Nine times out of ten if you really listen to those whispering or even shouting voices of inspiration...you will come up with something original, passionate, moving, compelling, and not some cookie cutter Jane or John Doe story that will only be lost in the shuffle with the millions of others just like it.

I refuse to compromise my story just because maybe it's  not what someone else would have wrote or what they want for the characters.  These are my babies, and only I know their true fate...the visions dancing in my head and whispered in the back of my mind.  At least in the end, I know that I have been true to them and myself, the ture story meant to  be told here and that is something I can feel proud of.  Writing is MY form of release and self expression!  You don't like me, chances are I don't like you either and therefore your opinion does not matter in the grand scheme of things!   I will continue to fearlessly listen to those inner voices (and the not so nice things they have to say) and take the TRUE fans I have rather than the thousands of lemmings who will just end up leaping off a cliff one after another to their deaths anyway!   Better to be the last one standing than to be at the bottom of the heap!

I am glad now that I finished writing my entry for today before popping over here to catch up with you TT. If I hadn't I would have deleted what I had started as "copycat"! The Terror Twins strike again as I find many of my muse thoughts echoed here in your words. Great minds think alike and I agree with every word here!

wow, I'm loving this quote! and I think it's so very true. About the passion part I can absolutely say that this is true. I started to study law not for pure passion but because it seemed fairly interesting and the right thing for me. I didn't study it with my heart and that was why I didn't enjoy going to uni at times.

Then I decided, after long talks with my family, former teachers, friends and consulting my own mind and heart to change my subject and my uni to English&History to become a teacher. It proved to be the best decision I could have ever made. I've always had a passion for both subjects and I now really enjoy most of my courses. this is something I think I can do my entire life and I know I would be much unhappier if I would have stuck to law.

As for writing...I do write from the heart and soul. I just let it flow and know that when I think about certain things too much it will only seem forced. As much as I appreciate feedback, I will yet continue doing what I do even if people don't like it. And I respect other writers as much also that I would never dare to talk them into changing their stories in any way. It has to come from the heart...if not, it's not true and not enjoyable to read.

I'm SO glad you didn't because while it may mention muses, they are VERY different posts. We can't help it that we think so much alike! They didn't start calling us TTs for nothing! Mwahaha! I REALLY liked your post. Glad to know I am not alone in this gift/curse. WEG

I agree with you Mel and I am so glad that you decided to follow your heart! I see a lot of the passion in the emotions that show through in your stories and the essays you write as well. I think it's a narrow and lonely path sometimes, the creative one, but the people you find along the way make it all worth while!

You terror twins crack me UP!!!! I love this quote and rant. It's wonderful to know my SISTA's are true to themselves.o:)