Why It May Be Time to Reevaluate Your Creative Circle

Which path are you being lead down? Is it where you really want to be?

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

I recently attended a local craft and artisan show. It was much on a whim and I wasn’t sure what to expect, so my expectations were low. However I was completely blown away, not just by the talent, but also by the reception from other attendees. People were so interested and engaged, and lots of folks were putting down serious cash for the beautiful handmade offerings. Someone with me got talking to one of the artists and found out that he was working full-time, and making a very nice income from it. I mention all this, not because we should be surprised by it, but because it seems contemporary discourse around making a living in the arts is so negative these days. In reality, it all depends on who you’re surrounding yourself with. Clearly some folks are doing just fine and then some.

So what’s going on here? The obvious answer is that negativity and naysaying is a very easy way to give yourself an excuse to not succeed. Saying it’s impossible to thrive as an artist is an excellent way to ensure you never will. It’s also a great excuse to give when contemplating giving up, moving on, or not wanting to do the work anymore. (Really, we’ve got a lot of work to do when it comes to shame and honesty about ourselves and our choices, but that’s not what this post is about, so let’s move on.)

I think we’ve got to look deeper. As a creative writer, I’ve certainly seen a change in my own writing circles, particularly in online groups and social media. Too often I see groups no longer focused on learning a craft and honing skills, but instead about writing a book out of the blue, immediately self publishing it, and using social media to self-market for sales. There’s often a focus on instant fame over longevity and excellence. Gone are the days of seeing writing as a craft or skill, of learning how to edit for yourself, of mentors, workshops and classes, and of putting more faith in the work as opposed to an author’s popularity. The industry has changed a lot, too. Agents and publishers are bombarded with manuscripts, many unready for the query process, and as a result writers are stuck in a slush piles for far longer than ever before, and in a more crowded competition space, too. What’s more, with some big influencer accounts changing the game for book sales, there has been a swing toward commercialism over content, popularity over substance, sales over talent. I see it in music and movies as well. We’re all stuck some sort of fifteen minute fame spiral.

I remember when I first started writing and online groups were filled with those who had reached critical or longterm success and were acting more like mentors to those of us up and coming. Among peers on the same level, we shared tips and taught each other which magazines to publish in, and which agents were the best. We learned because someone else had experience or knowledge and shared it. Now, I see the loudest online voices are no longer the most experienced. It’s often the most popular person in the room who is somehow now given credit for being the most correct even when they are not. And perhaps it’s the inundation of all these moronic AI bots, but people appear to be less willing to do research on their own about the craft or industry they work in. It’s all about being a instant mega-popular published author, and not about learning to write. It’s about the idea of the thing, and not the thing itself anymore.

Of course these are generalizations and not meant to apply to everyone. The point I’m trying to make is it’s so easy to get caught up in these sorts of creative circles, especially when algorithms are pushing buzzwords and big followings. So how do you know what type of circle you’re in? Well, what the focus is on, is a good place to start. Do people talk about improving craft? Do they support one another or is it competitive? Do they celebrate wins and encourage success, or it is mostly naysaying and digging into the difficulties. Or is it a lot of inexperienced people throwing out rules without the experiences to back them up?

Second, what’s the quality of work like that’s coming out of your circle? Of course, this depends on what you want. But if you want to be a traditionally published author, then it’s probably not great if your online writing group is daily posts about how to self-publish on Kindle Direct. Likewise, if you want to self publish, then sticking it out in a group that regularly discusses literary magazine submission calls isn’t going to work for you either.

I don’t believe creatives need a masters or any traditional education for success, but they do need to learn their craft. When people ask me about my masters and whether I think it was worth getting, I always say yes — but not for the reasons you might think. The biggest boost to my own writing was having that time surrounded by other serious writers, talking about writing, experimenting with my style, reading and being exposed to new authors, and just generally having a built-in circle of other like-minded writers with similar goals. In other words, my circle for that time was more important than any of the academic course work. We learned from one another, and that experience shaped and guided me to where I am now. And I’m a much better writer for having gone through it. For better or worse, our circle does shape who we become.

So getting back to the craft fair I mentioned at the beginning of this post. The fair was not that big, and wasn’t heavily advertised. I did not know any of the artisans in advance. And yet it was some of the most high quality, most professional, beautiful, and original artwork I’d seen in ages. Plus, people were buying it, supporting careers, and giving many of these folks a good living wage. These aren’t people looking to put a tag line up on their insta bio for clicks. These are people dedicated to their craft and being a professional with longevity.

And here’s the kicker: The craft fair was run by a local artisans group. In other words, these creators were all part of the same circle, perhaps driving one another to be their best, stay inspired, and became connected as professionals in the business. I’m now following a few of the makers online, not because they have big followings or an influencer told me to, but because I love what they’re creating. Sometimes it isn’t about being loud online, but about being good at what you do, and finding a circle that supports that. Everything else flows naturally in good time.