In Elizabeth Gilbert’s book BIG MAGIC, I was drawn to the section about Trust and the notion of the Tormented Artist. The section opens with, “Does It Love You?” Gilbert dives into the question of art as suffering. Writing, or any art form need not be an act of suffering but can and perhaps should be fun, evoke excitement within the creator of that art. Gilbert rejects the notion that it should pain us to write well or create something great with only the pain and suffering validating its quality. Inspired by this notion I am more productive when I feel invigorated by my ideas or when I have written something that stirs excitement within. Otherwise, why bother? Gilbert asserts that “our creativity grows like sidewalk weeds out of the cracks between our pathologies—not from the pathologies themselves.” Gilbert states that clinging to pain has the opposite effect on her creativity; it narrows her artistic vision “shrinking her universe down to the size of her own unhappy head.” I can relate and suspect other writers do too. Choosing suffering over love, Gilbert cautions to be aware, that the writer is building their creative house in a war zone. A battlefield will leave casualties. Such writers when asked, would admit they love their work. But Gilbert argues that their response to the question if “Writing loves them back,” would be no. In closing, Gilbert offers tools to trick the writer’s mind into choosing love over pain and suffering. Trust that creativity and ideas are not here to harm you, that your “work loves you as much as you love it,” and that it wants to be created by you. Toss the martyr complex and embrace your inner trickster.
