Signal vs. Noise, one of the blogs I read on technology, productivity, and creativity, posted an article recently about being motivated in a constructive and positive way by jealousy. “Productive jealousy,” is an interesting theory, but I wonder if it’s really that common in practice.
Like the article’s author, I have always been plagued with a close relationship with the little green monster. I find it stifles me. I become overly obsessed with the details of the other person’s success, trying to find the place in their timeline where they just got lucky, sniffing out the aspect of their art that is more calculated commercialism than creative vision. Overall, I find jealousy is a serious waste of my time and energy.
No, I think what motivates me in a constructive and positive way is the notion of opportunity. If I feel like something I’m writing offers an opportunity to do something I’ve never done before, I am full of energy, ideas, and commitment. Being jealous over someone else’s work or career makes me focus too much of my precious* effort on someone else. Opportunity makes me focus on me. When it comes to writing, I think that’s probably more worthwhile. Luckily, I believe that sense of opportunity is around me right now.
It will also help if I stop succumbing to buzz about hot writing wunderkinds. That’s a work in progress, for which I’ll need to quit paying attention to much of what flows through the New York Observer, New York Magazine, and Gawker.
* I say “precious” not out of a sense of luxurious value, but “precious” in the sense of rarity.
Comments 6
For me it was once I realized what the canonical and main stream throught of literature was that I felt more productive and assured of my intentions and ability.
Posted 21 May 2008 at 11:11 am ¶To me the canonical of literature is just about all the books we had to read in high school, including The Catcher in the Rye, but not including Grapes of Wrath. I know that sounds contradictory but its not. Catcher in the Rye was about a middle class hetero trying to deal with growing up, Grapes of Wrath was the attempt at humanization of the poor.
To this though one might look at Stephen King, someone who admits readily that he got a lucky break. More so though, one might look at his first book Carrie versus any of his later works. In Carrie there is an intent but a confusion of style and voice but it is the intent of the author to protray this characters, this situation that someone recognized. With time, money, and continued experience he grew as a writer to where he can turn out “confident” material succesively, though at times lacking in intent. Have you read A Buick 8? I give him props for having the courage to be so bland and yet so quick.
That’s all I have to say about that.
I have a friend who ever time I turn around is getting published in this little journal or that little journal. I’m happy for him. He does the research and his work is good. He deserves it. Once he encouraged me to submit to one of the journals that had accepted him and I said, “I know it’s stupid, but I feel like a follower submitting to a place after they’ve accepted you.”
And those hot writer wunderkinds…ugh….
Posted 21 May 2008 at 11:12 am ¶My bane isn’t jealousy but doubt and impatience. I’ve said it before and will say it again: at least once a month I seriously consider dropping the long term project that I’m working on and starting something new (although I’m now old enough to know that the new project will eventually become the long term project that I will consider dropping, so I don’t do it). So my brain goes like this:
I’m going to work on selling my collection and writing my novel.
NO- I’m going to start a funny blog that everyone will like and make a lot of money!
No- I’m going to form a consulting company that trains English teachers on how to use a wiki to teach composition!
No I’m going to write a steam punk novel!
No I’m going to stop writing and learn computer code (Ajax preferably)
It’s like I subscribe to the “Trendy Idea of the Month” club here. It all takes away from my writing flow.
Armand
Posted 24 May 2008 at 1:46 am ¶Doubt and impatience are banes to me as well. Jealousy sort of gets wrapped in between those, if the green monster plays a part at all. I suspect doubt is the worst monster most writers have to struggle with.
Posted 01 Jun 2008 at 5:24 pm ¶I agree with you 100% and wrote something related here:
http://beingandwriting.blogspot.com/2008/05/summers-debut-and-youth-fetish.html
Posted 05 Jun 2008 at 4:15 pm ¶In “How to Find the Work You Love” Laurence Boldt suggests: “When we have fallen into settling for less and are unwilling to admit it or do anything about it, the jealousy we feel towards others may be an unconscious way of trying to tell ourselves what we really want.”
He recommends focusing on the accomplishments of the person we envy “for accomplishments are the result of effort, and we are always in control of the effort we make.” If you’re jealous of what someone has written, don’t waste your energy feeling negative about it. Use it as fuel to keep yourself writing, editing, revising, and sending out your own work.
Posted 09 Jun 2008 at 4:04 pm ¶Speak Your Mind