Inspiration from a Career Writer

I saw this a few days ago on my friend Jessie's blog 20-Nothings, and though I scanned her post and even commented on it, I didn't watch the video or take in what she was saying. Today, in a moment of 'why not?,' I watched this TED Talk featuring Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love. I haven't read the book and generally stay away from the trendy book of the moment, but this speech she delivered struck something within me.

Elizabeth Gilbert at TED

As a young person, as a young writer, the words and feelings and emotions she expresses in her 18-minute speech hit me like a sack of amazing, creativity-filled bricks. I need to make work, and I need to do it now. This anxiety I have about writing is completely normal, everyone (even successful writers) have it, and I need to press through it and put something out there. I owe it to myself and to my future craft. If you have 20 minutes, please watch this. And, as Jessie said, if you're a young artist in the making, watch it twice. I hope it affects you like it affected me.

As a side note, it's so nice to see a writer who isn't crazy or a junkie or a drunk producing work that matters and that is successful. I've been worried lately that I would never be successful because I had a normal childhood and am not addicted to anything but New York. Whew.