One of the greatest fears of all creators is that moment of truth when you share your work with an audience. If you’re like me, the thought of publishing, submitting for critique or edits, or simply sharing work on a public forum can cripple your creativity. We find excuses to put off sharing our writing. We favor urgent work over important work. We tell ourselves the odd hour or two of free time we have each day isn’t enough to “get into the flow.”
“I do think that, even if I have thirty minutes, I should just do something because it would push the needle a little bit further.”
Fellow podcaster Mark Millien knows all about the stress of making your work public. That’s why his podcast, The Hidden Scribes, aims to highlight and lift up the work of unknown and emerging authors by transforming their writing into a miniature audiobook. Mark’s goal is to motivate writers to finish and share their work and perhaps even attract the attention of publishers.
“The liberation of actually going public with your work is worth any second guessing that you might afflict yourself with later.”
In addition to discussing ways of overcoming the fear of creative exposure, Mark and I also talk about managing our precious writing time, the pros and cons of elaborate world building, and appreciating the flaws of our previously published work. We also dish about the creative benefits of one of my favorite pastimes—tabletop role playing games!
“That collaborative type of storytelling was just such an ignition for my imagination in so many ways.”
I had a lot of fun talking with Mark about podcasting, writing, and gaming. I hope his story sheds some light on the fears we all share as writers and inspires you to put yourself out there. Be sure to stop by his website and social medias to see what he’s been up to since we talked. As always, thank you so much for listening and don’t forget to share your work with the world!
Mentioned in this episode:
#TheHiddenScribes
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I just found your podcast recently and have been listening to some of your older episodes. Coffee break 75 really hit close to home for me. I have always been terrified to share my writing and it has been hard getting it out there. I’ve also been stuck in a vicious editing cycle on a piece of work that I wrote. I keep finding things to change or tweak and I think it’s the fear of people hating it that keeps me from saying enough is enough. I put so much into it that I would be heartbroken to see people making awful comments on it, but I am determined to get it done and share it with the world. This podcast has been truly enlightening so thank you! Sorry, I don’t know how to write short messages so I apologize for the rambling!
You’re not rambling at all — thank you so much, Teresa! Happy writing, and I’m so excited for you to share what you write. -Sarah