Tribe Writers — surviving module one and having an insight that scares the sh*t out of me!
It’s been three weeks since I signed up for Tribe Writers and I’ve made it through the first module. Jeff Goins suggests that each module should take two weeks but it took me three. What the hell! I have a busy life and I was away for a few days.
It started simple. Then in part four, honing your voice, the exercise got serious. You had to describe your writing style in three words, think of some of your favourite writers and describe their work in three words, then describe your ideal reader in three words. So far, so good.
Next came the scary bit — you had to ask five people who knew you to describe you in three words. Not your writing, but you. Yes, that meant telling people I was doing the course, asking them for help and accepting what they came back with.
One of my friends came up with the word magnanimous. Now, I sort of knew that this means something like rising above negative stuff and seeking to see the best in people. As I was collating all my words I thought I would just double check the meaning so I looked it up in my trusted Chambers dictionary that my Mum gave me when I was 12.
Magnanimous was listed under magnanimity and this is the definition:
Greatness of soul: that quality of mind which raises a person above all that is mean or unjust: generosity.
Wowsers! Is that me?
I write about creativity and I like to do it in a gentle style that encourages people to get on top of their fears and just do the best they can, alongside the other responsibilities in their daily life. But greatness of soul, the quality of mind which raises a person above all that is mean or unjust? Gosh! Even though I know that I do seek to do that, it still sounded pretty lofty.
The final part of the exercise was to look across all of these sets of three words and draw out an overall three words or short phrases that describe who you are, who you want to sound like and who the people are that are going to resonate with what you have to say.
I settled on pragmatic, gentle and then from the magnanimous I rephrased it as lift people to recognise their own unique greatness.
This was simultaneously exciting and very frightening. Who the hell are you, Cali Bird, to think you can do that? Aren’t you getting a little bit above yourself?
If that exercise ended up in a scary “can I really do this” moment, the next exercise ratcheted it up even further.
The objective is to create a worldview statement, something that you really believe in, your fans will love and about which other people might strongly disagree.
The formula is very simple:
Every [people/type of person] should ………
For example, every vegetarian should convince their friends to go meat-free. Or, every mother should cook meals from fresh ingredients for their children. (By the way, these are examples. I’m not advocating either of them but you can probably find blogs out there based on these premises.)
I tried out a few versions for myself and then this one gave me goose bumps:
Every creative person should believe they can express their truth.
Let me repeat that: every creative person should believe they can express their truth.
Again the resistance. Who the hell am I to even think this let alone assume that I can successfully deliver on this message?
Why is it that the thing that scares you and makes you feel sick is the one you know you have to do?
It is because it makes you dig deep. It is answering the soul which knows it is the right thing to do, your raison d’être. When you have to do dig deep, you stretch yourself and pull something out of yourself which is only just possible. Creating from this place has a bigger impact, both for the creator and the audience. If it comes from your soul then it is more likely to touch someone else’s.
Initially I resisted from sharing the results of either of these two exercises. It was too daunting and I didn’t want to be the goody-goody girl with the over exalted aims. Eventually I shared my worldview statement in a comment to someone else’s Facebook post about the exercise. It got a favourable response. This helped me to feel more at ease with what I came up with.
And now I’m sharing here. (Gulp!)
This has given me the perfect opportunity to take my own advice on dealing with my fear and reticence. That is to plod gently forward, one step at a time and just see what happens!
Thank you for coming with me on the journey.
You can read my first post about joining Tribe Writers here:
Terrified of your creative project but desperate to get started?
Then sign up for my Stop Procrastinating, Start Creating mini course.
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