Saturday, October 20, 2012

Why You Should Never Think You're Going To Be Rich And Famous

A friend of mine sent me this video recently. Maybe you've seen it:

RSA Animate-Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us from The RSA on Vimeo.

The basic idea is that when you offer a really big monetary reward for completing a difficult mental task, people get stupid. They can't do creative, high-level thinking very well. The stress and excitement probably interferes with their brain. We've all seen this. While we're sitting, relaxing in our living rooms and watching a game show we can remember all the answers to the million dollar questions. Why can't that idiot contestant do it? Well, it's because a million dollars is at stake. 

How does this apply to writing?

Unfortunately, there's a natural tendency to assume that writers become rich and famous because most of the writers we hear about are the rich and famous ones. Of course anyone who knows anything about the business knows that's not true, but the impression is still there because the writers we hear about most often are the ones who are rich and famous. Sorry, that's the way it is. It's the same way with people who win the lottery. The losers are never on the billboards, only the winners, so we get this impression that winning isn't so unusual. This "all authors are rich and famous" effect is even bigger for people who don't know much about writing. When my friends hear I'm working on a novel for children, they say, "Oh, so you're going to be like J.K. Rowling."

You wish.

So dig down deep inside and tear out any old, left-over roots of the idea that your brilliant masterpiece of a book is going to make your rich and famous. Not because that's impossible, but because if you're thinking it in the back of your mind, you won't do your best work.

This goes for ANYTHING you see as a big reward. Is your fat, juicy carrot a literary agent? A publishing contract? Ten thousand sales on Amazon? According to the research, carrots just get in your way when you're doing high-level creative work. Forget about your carrot. Tell yourself it doesn't matter. That's not really why you're doing this.

As Daniel Pink explains in his little video presentation, there are three things that people really want, three things they will do creative, high-level brain work for. The first is to be in charge of ourselves. We want the freedom to choose. Next, we want skills. We'll work hard to gain higher levels of expertise in anything that interests us. This is probably why I practice the harp for an hour a day so I can play with an Irish band that performs only four or five times a year for free at churches and libraries. What do I get out of it? Besides hanging out with friends, I'm getting good at something. Third, people want a sense of purpose. We want to be part of a greater cause, we want to make a difference in the world. This is probably why I spend all that time sorting and rinsing containers for recycling. It isn't exactly fun, but I feel like I'm part of a greater purpose.

So is this why I write?

I've certainly got a lot of freedom. At this stage of my career I can write whatever I want. As for skills, there is so much to learn about writing, so much to gain from constant practice, it's kept me happy for half a life-time and I expect it to do the same throughout my remaining years. Do I have a sense of purpose? I think back to the eleven-year-old girl I once was, who was constantly searching the library for a really good book, and the delight I felt every time I found and read one. I write because I want to make children happy. Well, happy, and sad, and angry, and worried, and scared, but then happy again at the end. Children need emotional exercise. I build emotional playground equipment called books.

So what's the external carrot that's tripping you up? Change your focus to the freedom you enjoy as a writer, the skills you're developing, and your sense of purpose. Those are things no one can give you or take away.





21 comments:

  1. I build emotional playground equipment called books.

    I love this! This line, this whole piece. Just beautiful and so true.

    I've no interest in fame (it's overrated and having a had a small taste of it locally, I can live without ever having that again). Being crazy rich is also not terribly attractive to me (although I wouldn't turn it down!) - it's just that having money at the Stephanie Myer level comes with all kinds of complications as well. So fame and riches aren't doing it for me.

    But this does: I write because I want to make children happy. Well, happy, and sad, and angry, and worried, and scared, but then happy again at the end.

    This motivates me in a huge way. And not just for children, but teens and adults too.

    Even thinking of readers, though, can trip me up, freeze me as I think of a story I want to write (or am writing) and thinking: will they hate it??

    In the end, the only thing you can do is reach inside and write what moves you from there. The rest will come (or not) but that will already have satisfied the need to create (at least for me).

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  2. Thanks for your comment, Sue. You always inspire me.

    I have to admit that I did want to be famous. Or at least I wanted my fiction to be famous. As a very young mother I once sat on a playground bench and listened to the neighborhood kids talk about Star Wars and I thought, "Someday I want to be sitting on a playground bench, listening to random neighborhood kids talk about MY characters." It wasn't just because I crave attention, which I do, but because I wanted to reach as many readers as possible.

    I think, in a way, it has been keeping me from doing my very best work. I've got to forget about popularity, and just write me a good book.

    What impressed me about you from the beginning, Sue, is that you were so willing to learn. When I gave you advice, you took it, and then went on to find some really great sources of storytelling wisdom that you passed back on to everyone through your blog. You've really excelled at improving your skills and helping others do the same.

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    1. Aw, thanks! I may not be driven by fame or sales, but the drive to excel is huge in me. I have the freedom you mention above (both because I'm a writer, and because I've gone indie), which allows my desire to improve my skills to pretty much run rampant. :)

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  3. Very interesting post.

    I think my carrot is possible success. Not the I'm-going-to-be-rich kind. I'm talking about the Squee-I-just-got-a-book-contract kind.

    Knowing that at some point (if I hang in there and hone my craft) I probably will succeed freaks me out. I know that's crazy and counterproductive, but like you said, right now I can write for me. Will it be as fun if I'm writing as a job? What if I fail everyone? What if I get that book contract and the book flops? So many what ifs. It's less scary to just tinker away in my office. That way when I fail I'm the only one who knows about it.

    BUT, I'm not going to let that fear stop me.

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    1. Leisha, I just wrote a whole post about Fear and the Creative Worker. I have that same fear of success that you're talking about too. :)

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    2. I just read it. Yup, got all those fears and a few more. I must really be on the right track. Lol. Thanks for the post. I'm going to go smack my fears around with some creativity. :)

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    3. I just read Sue's post. Fantastic, as usual. Yep, my biggest fear right now is that I'm not cut out to be a writer. I'm a good as a mentor, amateur editor, and general cheering section for my author friends, and maybe that's what's going to be my place in the publishing world. It's a good place, I like it, but I want more.

      I need to write like I need to breathe. My characters want to live outside my own head. So I have to stop being afraid because I know that there's no such thing as being "cut out" for something or not. I know how to work hard, I've just got to learn to do what I really want and not talk myself out of it.

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    4. Rebecca, you are good at all those things, the mentoring and editing and cheering. You are also really good at writing. Funny how none of us see that in ourselves. We tend to only see it in others. It's like we're looking into a magic mirror, but it's stuck in evil mode and only shows our faults. Time to get new mirrors. I don't need one that tells me I'm the fairest writer in the land. One that just shows me for me will be perfect. :)

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    5. Dang it, I know I'm really good at writing. That's the problem. It made me think I could just sit down and write something really good. And when I couldn't, I had a lengthy fit of depression that included curling up in bed and crying like a teenage girl. Now I'm through with all of that nonsense. I'm gonna cowgirl up and get back in the saddle.

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    6. What Leisha said. Also: your comment reminds me the growth vs. fixed mindset philosophy. Gifted children often struggle because they have been told so often that they are "smart" (insert "talented" here for writing). They begin believe that all tests should be easy for them because they are "smart," so when they hit a challenge (as all kids will), they suddenly plummet, convinced that they never were "smart" after all. This is the "fixed" mindset - that they have a certain amount of "smartness" (or intelligence) in them, and once they hit that ceiling, that's it, they're done (it's a tremendous ego blow as well, which doesn't help). But there's a vast amount of research that shows intelligence is "plastic" or can change (the brain is an amazing thing), and having a "growth" mindset (i.e. I can actually become smarter if I work harder) is critical to pushing beyond the "easy" part that talent/intelligence will let you achieve.

      This may all sound simple, but the actual results when they test kids are startling. Kids who were low performing on math tests, when they "retrain" their brain to think with a growth mindset (instead of fixed) have substantial (and almost immediate) gains.

      When I first heard of this philosophy, it resonated with me - because it's much of the way I've always thought. And I think it explains why I do that thing you mentioned before, always "so willing to learn."

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    7. Sue, I must get my Math 106 students to realize this! It is such a battle teaching that class because they come in thinking, "I'm not good at math, why is this college making me take a math class? I'm a film major, for cryin' out loud!!!" But if I can somehow shatter the "fixed intelligence" mindset, then it will all be worth it.

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  4. When I was a teenager, I remember hearing about a study that showed that most people sabotage their chances for success. They work and fight to rise higher, but when a real opportunity comes . . . something happens. They fizzle out, lose steam, give up, find fault, become too busy with other things. The study brought out the fact that most were afraid of what success would bring. I've never forgotten it - and wondered about that. I love your post, because it brings up motivations, and it's right on the money. I really enjoyed the clip, and I'm with Susan - I love your line about books being emotional playground equipment - well said!
    Thanks for another wonderful post. I'm going to have to think about this a while.
    : )

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    1. I just read Leisha's comments,and, oh, so totally me. Yup, I'm afraid. That's why I have to go and think about this more.

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    2. Thanks, Jonene. Yep, that's another fear I have. I'm afraid I'm going to fizzle. That I'm going to tire of putting in all this time, effort, and even money into writing before I reach my goals.

      But in the philosophy of motivation that I shared in this post I think I've discovered part of the answer of WHY I do this. And enough of my motivation is independent from actually making money at this that I think I can stay in the game for the long haul.

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  5. Well said! One thing I am not looking for is fame. I don't want to be famous. However, I would like my books to be read. I'd like to think that one day people will be eagerly anticipating my next book. I also know the chances of me becoming rich are nearly zero. It irritates me no end when people say, 'Remember me when you're the next J K Rowling'. Apart from the fact that this highly unlikely, it irks me that after the thousands of hours spent writing the so-called best seller I'm just going to give them money!

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    1. Fame is definitely overrated, Ellie. I think it destroys too many artists! My favorite books were never the really popular ones anyhow. I love those quiet gems hidden in the library, unsung masterpieces, books I can be the first person to tell my friends about.

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  6. Very well said. These are great thoughts to remember and everyone should find discipline in something that pushes them. Loved this. I'll keep this post on my virtual refrigerator. Funny, my friends say the same--your going to be the next J.K. Rowling. I try to keep from laughing in their faces. Now back to building my brain exercise for children. :)

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post, Karen! Do you write for middle grade or YA? What's your genre?

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  8. The cap'n here believes in the free content model, Anonymous. If someone were to steal one of my posts and put it up somewhere else I'd just laugh.

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