Your story is valid – will you tell it?
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00:30 on regretting writing songs about real issues or situations for fear of oversharing
04:49 on realising artists shouldn't try to edit themselves
It's not the job of the artist to self-edit, certainly not before we've completed whatever we're working on! But that's easier said than done, especially when we're sharing personal - sometimes traumatic - stories in our work.
I answer your questions about personal songwriting and the power of writing to change your day, plus the importance of just getting on with it and finishing things before deciding you suck.
I try to remember the story about how Stephen King chucked his initial pages for "Carrie" in the bin. If his wife Tabitha hadn't fished them out and told him to keep going, the world would be a different place!
Thank you Douglas Robertson and Bold and the Doodleful for your excellent questions xo
I mention an inspiring quote by Martha Graham, who was giving this advice to fellow dancer/choreographer Agnes DeMille. Here it is in full:
“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time. This expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.
No artist is pleased…there is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction. A blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”