Writers or eccentrics?
Writers are eccentrics!!! I think this statement is true, call me an eccentric, see if I care. I am not a writer but I put my thoughts out in the open for all to see and react. I am not trying to create a brand here, but am just voicing my thoughts on a very sensitive subject called, ‘Writers.’
Every person is an artist, because all of us are creators. Some creations we can see, like painters make paintings, sculptors make sculptures, landscapers create beautiful gardens and landscapes, potters make pottery. Writers write, homemakers create lovely homes with their caring and nourishing, groundsmen create beautiful and well kept grounds, teachers create future citizens, and garbage collectors create a good and clean environment. Everybody is an artist.
Artists are very possessive about their creations and take umbrage at anyone’s remarks suggesting modifications to their works of art. If you tell a painter his painting needs a little more light or if a sculptor is told to change the angle of his statue’s head, a potter is told to alter the shape of his mugs’ handles, they will most definitely get mad.
Same is the case with the writer, if you tell her to modify her piece or to tone down her voice in the article she has written, she takes offense, and justifiably so. Only the mother knows how beautiful her baby is and if you tell her that , ‘Even though your child is pretty, if you got her nose redone by a plastic surgeon, she will look more beautiful, the mother might never speak to you again.
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but what is beautiful to one eye might be ugly to the other. The same thing doesn’t appeal to all in the society, if that were the case then we wouldn’t have so many brands of consumer products in the market. We would just have one brand of tea, coffee, toothpaste, cosmetics, clothing line. Why would we have so many different kinds of labels in the market?
We wouldn’t have so many websites, One Dot.com would suffice. Why would we need a Google Plus when Face book was already there? Why would there be the need for a brand new social networking site, when so many already exist? Think about it…If everybody liked the same things then life and society would become so dull, colorless and boring.
All the houses would look the same, parks, malls, bikes, cars…etc. There would be no genres in songs, dances, writing. What I am trying to say is that people have different tastes and choices for a reason, they think differently. Each individual has his or her style, in everything she or he does; it’s what makes him/her unique.
So if we all are different then how can we create something which appeals to one and all at the same time? The best way to deal with this is to let the artists make something they love and the like-minded people will come to appreciate their creations. It’s like twitter, you like someone and your thoughts click, you follow them. You don’t tweet about those whom you don’t follow, you let them be, and someone else loves them and tweets about them, that’s life for you.
I went to see a new movie, though I loved it my friend hated it, does that mean that either of us are wrong? No. What it means is because I like a particular type of story line, I liked the movie and there will be many like me, who will like it and many unlike me, who will hate it. So the movie maker should be honest to his feelings and make a film, people who share the same passion will go for it and those who don’t won’t. But if he tries to please all and makes a movie, it will turn out to be a disaster; it will have no backbone or integrity.
So my advice to all aspiring artists is, ‘Be honest to yourself and your beliefs, the rest will follow. Let no one, other than your intuition dictate, influence or steer you in a particular direction. It’s your life, ideas and emotions which propel you forward to excel in your chosen field. Go live your life on your own terms; the world will follow in your footsteps, or at least part of the world will.’
Lucks aka Sulekha
Oh wow! I liked this, no loved it, Sulekha. Great advice there!
Thanks a ton Corinne, you are so supportive and encouraging. Love your compliment…
..beautifully written sulekha..i agree to every word of urs…every one is an artist out here..when u do some work..its obvious der will b some critics..but just to please dem u dont have to distort ur piece of work..as d sayin goes..'u cannot please everyone '..all u got to do is ..roll on.. 🙂 😉
Thank you Riggs, welcome to my blog and yes, we do need to do what we feel is right.
This is AWESOME! Sulekha..cannot agree more.
This is just brilliant! Every single sentence I was nodding my head thinking you have it exactly right. I love your broad and open world view and advice at the very end is some I may well copy out so that I can read it again. I try through my writing and painting to be true to what is inside myself. If I lose that, I've lost a great part of what makes me unique. Often I have thought that no matter what anybody else thinks of my writing or art, I must be happy with it myself first. That is what matters. That my words are MY words, a reflection of what is in my heart.
Great post, I really enjoyed it and will be back to read more!
Dear Sulekha,this is very nice!I am happy in my own skin and wish everybody else to be likewise.
luv!
-PORTIA
I always knew that you are a very intelligent woman,and this post goes on to prove it…………Amazing…its making me think a lot,analyse myself,especially where I am standing today.
@Janu, thank you for being in my corner.
@Colleen, welcome to my blog and thanks for the follow. You're my 100th follower…We all should remember that we are unique and the world can take it or leave it, we won't change or conform.
@Portia, I am glad you feel like this too. Thanks for the visit and the comment.
@Alpana,Thanks friend for calling me intelligent, I doubt that but won't argue with you. Love your comment.
Good piece Sulekha!
Art should be appreciated for what it is and not picked at so much. If you like it, great! If not, don't try to FIX it! Art is not a science project. I totally agree! 🙂
http://lyricfire.typepad.com/lyric-fire/2011/09/lyric-fire-look-at-my-fabulous-life-episode-6-.html
Simply inspirational! Yes, we need to celebrate our particular creative gifts and not worry whether or not someone else will appreciate them or understand. We are as unique as our fingerprints!
Thank you for sharing these wonderful thoughts and making me feel it's okay to be eccentric!:)
Blessings!
Love the look and I am eccentric as it gets!
Oh, Sulekha, I guess this goes for literary works but for scientific journals, the case is different. We have the articles peer reviewed and critiqued to improve the article.
I think it would also be helpful to have our works critiqued through comments and suggestions to enhance our papers.
In blog writing, we are all freelancers and sometimes, it also gets me off the hook editing the work while I read. I simply enjoy the 'artwork' as it is. I could let go of grammatical errors and misspellings.
Most young writers use 'text style' writings (in the Philippines, we call it 'jejemon' language) and I could adapt but not so much.
For artists and musicians, I guess, it's also good to hear critiques. I wrote 'listen' because an artwork is not to be explained but to be displayed for its beauty. We might have different interpretations of what we read and see. So it would be good to allow space for the artists and the audience. Plus, there are particular things/images I like to see…so there goes the bias :P. Criticisms could enlighten dark areas and help enhance our works…
Oh well… I wrote many things so forget them all and just try considering one thing :P… LOVE and it'll be expressed well in your writings 😉
I love your post Sulekha.
def from wiki From Medieval Latin eccentricus, derived from Greek ekkentros, "out of the center", from ek-, ex- "out of" + kentron, "center". Eccentric first appeared in English in 1551 as an astronomical term meaning "a circle in which the earth, sun, etc. deviates from its center." Five years later, in 1556, an adjective form of the word was added. 129 years later, in 1685, the definition evolved from the literal to the figurative, and eccentric began being used to describe unconventional or odd behavior. A noun form of the word – a person who possesses and exhibits these unconventional or odd qualities/behaviors – didn't appear until 1832.
well we were born unique and out of the center. we have to be taught to be socially normal, i have been taught and i am still out of center. but i like it that way. love you post keep it the way you are and let the rest of the world be normal they are just not having fun. thank you and god bless
i am writing a post along the same lines. guess great minds work alike, god bless
People allow others to sway them one way or another. Comparing themselves with others, which is always a losing situation for the person who is trying to be someone else.
Everything would be so much better if everyone would just be themselves…
My art is my writing..it is someday yo be my legacy for my kids and grand kids…M reward for m writing???? I"M hopeful I touched a life and let them know they are not alone…As always..OXOXOXO
Very timely. All of us can relate to this one.
Thanks Sulekha.
Joy always,
Susan
Sulekha,
Was late in reading this wonderful post. Sorry for that. Howerver it's never too late to appreciate somethng good. How beautifully you have captured a writer's world ! Kudos !!
Ayon
But we all agree that you're one of the most wonderful writer's ever!! I love every piece! <3
I have often said that if we were all cookie cutter images of one another, the world would be a very bland, boring, one dimensional place. How fortunate we are that we're each delightfully different and full of quirks that makes us shine in our own unique manner! I revel in being exposed to people who are creative in a fashion that forces me to observe the world in a new way; in this way, I am constantly growing and changing, adapting my own thoughts and beliefs and becoming a better version of myself. It teaches me compassion, tolerance and above all, keeps me excited about all the new discoveries yet to be experienced. Lovely article, my dear!
– Dawn
@Tameka, So glad you think like me, Can I tell you a secret, I am a science student but think more with my heart than my brain :)Thanks
@Martha, welcome to my blog and thank you for your compliment. We are unique as our fingerprints, well said.
@Savira, thanks my dear eccentric friend. 🙂
@Melissa, Love your comments and compliments dear, thanks.
@Roy, thanks and am looking forward to reading your post.
@Jenni, love your words of wisdom, "Everything would be so much better if everyone would just be themselves…" thanks
@Bongo, rightly said 🙂 thanks
@Susan, welcome and thanks for the compliment.
@Ayon, Only an eccentric can understand one 🙂 thank you for the lovely compliment.
@Swati, you love me that's why you like my work, thank you <3
P.s I love you tooooo
@Dawn, "How fortunate we are that we're each delightfully different and full of quirks that makes us shine in our own unique manner!"
Your words are so powerful and unique like you, thanks for the visit and the comment.
Lovely post, Sulekha! I couldn’t agree more. We all have our styles and our quirks. We might not be as perfect as someone else but that should not take away our uniqueness. We all are writers in our own right 🙂
Beautiful advice here and I couldn’t agree more… We need to embrace who we are and let our art reflect that in honesty and nothing else!
I knew you would understand, thanks for your lovely comment.