"Hide It Under a Bushel--NO!"

(Note: I read all my pieces out loud for you; I think they’re best that way—but feel free to read instead! And while I do love an em dash, rest assured every post is written by me—a human—not AI.)

I just read a bunch of 1 star reviews on Goodreads of Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. I stumbled upon the book a couple years ago while I was driving cross country from Colorado to Nashville, and I was charmed. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version because Liz Gilbert reads it; I love her voice—yes, her writing voice but also her reading voice which makes me feel like she’s my cool aunt wrapping me up in a quilt she made from our ancestor’s clothing.
Cozy. Warm. Wise.

Big Magic has meant a whole lot to me as a writer. She gives me permission not to hang my hat on my art, to not put pressure on it like that. To remember that the reason why we write is for the love of play; that the every day is the prize. Commercial fame is that elusive thing that could be the cherry on the top of everything, but probably won’t be. You would think I would be disheartened by this advice, but I’m not.

Big Magic is easily in my top three books on writing craft, so I couldn’t imagine why anyone would rate it a 1 star on Goodreads. “Gilbert is obsessed with herself!” one reviewer proclaims to which I say, uh, duh. She’s an artist. We are all self-focused. We are our own interface to the world. How else could we write other than making our inside world just as big as our outside world? I read review after review in this similar vein—she’s too sticky sweet, she’s offering nothing new, blah blah blah. It makes me think that if Liz Gilbert can’t please everyone, what the hell am I over here trying to be everyone’s favorite gal?

Often, when I get a new subscriber, I will read several of their writings and then read a few of mine through the lens of who I think they are based on their work. This behavior isn’t limited to Substack either. I do it across the board on social media and beyond. I often feel I should change a word or two here, add sections, etc, to make myself more palatable to each reader and what I think they would like. I don’t do this because 1. it’s disrespectful to myself and 2. it’s dishonest to readers, and if I started, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop. Connection is a big reason why I write, and changing myself to fit what I think others want is DISconnection.

Now I’ve been called quirky. I’ve been called INTENSE.
I’ve even been called things I couldn’t pretend were actually compliments.
And every time I hear something disparaging, and I feel shame start to trickle over me, it’s hard not to want to chameleon myself.

ANYWAYyyyy, until next time, Dear Reader—“Don’t let Satan *wwhhhhh* it out!”
(Whoever he is).