The Pep Talk

We need creatives to keep creating

BACKGROUND

I have been really depressed lately about the careers of creatives. All over the entertainment industry our talents (writing, voice over, narration, acting, art, and on and on and on) are being decimated and devalued. It makes me heartsick.

I think I’ve spent more time than is healthy in this space of feeling like a victim, and like I have no control.

Those things might be true (we are victims to the changes happening and have no control over it) but it’s not a healthy space to live indefinitely. A hopeless landscape is like living in a post-apocalyptic world and while I might want to visit that in stories or movies, I don’t actually want to live there in real life. I need grass and trees and clean water and…well…hope.

Here’s the thing: all careers are changing. Call it recession, call it contraction, call it whatever. Businesses want more money so they’re cutting back on the biggest expense: the workers.

So how do we make a living, stay true to our art, and hold onto hope (and our homes)?

I think the same creative spirit that fuels us to tell stories is also what will, ultimately, rescue us.

We need to use our creative spirits, our abilities to envision, even more now.

We need to lean into what is possible and doggedly pursue the beautiful. We need to keep writing, keep acting, keep creating.

WHAT THIS MEANS

Every moment you produce your art, every time you sit down to a script or your computer, a blank page or a blank canvas, every time you envision movements to music or you write the music, every time you create a character or an idea, you are actively leaning into the beauty and the power of the human spirit.

The act of creating is an act of radical rebellion. And celebration. And chutzpah.

It’s an act of defiance, of defense, and ultimately of determination: Creativity will win, storytelling will win. And we, the creatives, will win.

We are winning now, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

In narration work, things are shifting, but they’ve always been shifting. Each story we tell, each time we approach the microphone, we’re bringing our unique experience, perspective, and—yes—voice to the world. We’re sharing a part of ourselves.

The same is true with writing. Every word I write here is an extension of my unique experience, it’s a way to show the world what and how I see, it is the ultimate way of connecting with others through world building, empathy, and shared experience.

WHAT ABOUT MAKING A LIVING?

All of this is good and inspiring, but does it translate into money?

I don’t know.

I think creating is possibly greater than money, this idea of radically expressing our creative selves. Art is about showing what has happened in the world, but also what is possible. As visionaries, we help shape the future.

I’m not exaggerating.

Think of the Star Trek Communicators; now think of the iPhone. Creators envision. Creators connect. Creators…create.

It is more important now than ever to keep doing our work. My hope is while we create, we will also be compensated, allowing us to keep having space and time to do this important work. Maybe people who enjoy our creative work will feel inspired to underwrite, support, buy the book, borrow the audiobook from a library, purchase the painting for their office, tell their friends about our work, whatever.

I hope that all of us in creative fields can continue to make a living doing what we are meant to. Even if we have to pick up a side hustle or try to convince others to buy our books or songs or whatever, we still create. We still envision. We still connect.

I do this every day. I create with the books I narrate, the books and articles I write. I create when I cook. I create when I breathe and when I sleep and dream at night. I create every time I choose to believe in goodness and kindness.

Maybe, like those Star Trek communicators, what I think of will eventually lead to something greater. Maybe my work will help someone, provide an escape, soothe or connect others—and through the process, I’ll help myself, give myself an escape, and remind myself I am part of a greater purpose.

I know this sounds like I’m standing on a soapbox here, and maybe I am.

Maybe that’s okay.

HERE IS WHAT I KNOW

Storytelling is more than a pastime. It’s an essential part of being human, being part of a family or community.

Creating is an everyday magic that we can all do, and we all should.

Today, I’ll go into the booth and record a cozy mystery. I’ll love every moment of it. Later, I’ll work on my collection of short stories that I’ll be producing soon. I’ll post to my social media so people know what I’m creating and that it’s available to them if they want to seek it out, some things for free, and some things for sale.

The landscape is only dire if we stop. The world loses its grass and trees and water if we stop tending to the growing things.

We are the growing things.

We are the magic.

Keep tending.

Our creative lives are important and necessary to a healthy and beautiful world.

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP

• Keep creating

• Be courageous in expressing your creativity

• Support other artists with reviews, funds, and/or spreading the word

• Support authors by borrowing their books from libraries, or purchasing them

• Don’t support AI if/when you can avoid it

• Make choices in life that align with your sense of goodness

• Know that your voice is important and helps others

• Believe that creativity is important

MOVING FORWARD

What are ways you can express your creativity and human ness? I’d love to hear what is important in your life and art, and how you connect with others.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tanya has a lot of new work available like THE KNOWING and THE TAKERS. She’s never stopped writing, but her books were held up for a few years while she tried to find a publisher. She never did find a publisher. The sad feedback was that though they loved her books, her social media presence was not strong enough to invest in her work.

So.

Tanya is moving forward, agent-less, publisher-less, but hope-full and she continues to fight against all the AI generated content and share her peculiar work and words. You support her every time you read one of her articles. Thank you for helping her feel heard.