Introducing: Roadblocks
A new monthly section of The Roadside
Hi there!
Welcome to the intro post for a new section of my Substack! A new monthly-ish installment, called Roadblocks.
I thought about this section of my newsletter when I first got serious about starting a Substack and finally settled on the name, The Roadside. But it wasn’t until the last couple of weeks that I actually gave it another thought.
Another: maybe I want do this, too? And maybe…I actually can? And maybe…
…why not?
This section of my newsletter will be where I write about creative stuff and work through my own blocks, shame, perfectionism, and why it can be so f*cking hard to actually getting around to the making and sharing of work part (and not just thinking about doing it.)
Where I share my process and how I’m working on crawling out of the grips of perfectionism, procrastination, and fear. Where I share my vulnerable shit in hopes of it being a way to connect with others who are maybe going through the same stuck-ness.
Because I know, for a fact, that I am not alone in this.
Because maybe you’re like me, and have a whole shelving unit(s) of half-started projects and ideas and materials for things you want to do. Maybe you’re like me and these things sit and sit and sit, maybe halfway started, maybe just collected into boxes of materials, to remain un-started for an undetermined and indefinite amount of time. Maybe you’re like me and these things have sat in your house for years. Maybe you’re like me and these things have traveled with you through various moves to new homes.
Maybe you’re like me, and you still want to do all these things, but you just….haven’t. For whatever reason.
Maybe you’re like me and this resonates:
I have never been formally diagnosed with ADHD, but so many things with that diagnosis resonate very much for me. I’m not really sure that I will write anything on the whole ADHD thing in any of my newsletters, but I think it’s important to mention here. And I think there are a lot of us in the whole camp of:
Yeah, I think I have ADHD but I was never formally diagnosed with it because my symptoms presented differently than what was seen as ADHD when I was younger.
I think all of that is important to note but I really am just planning on approaching this from my own, personal standpoint as just a person, who struggles to do work sometimes. Diagnosis or not, I think a lot of it is a pretty universal human experience.
But back to my main point.
It’s difficult to make creative work! It’s even more difficult to share it in this world controlled by stupid social media platforms and arbitrary algorithms. It can be hard to believe in yourself!
I struggle to validate my own work constantly. My own writing. My art.
Literally anything creative I do, these thoughts cross my mind every time I sit down to do any sort of work:
Who am I to be putting my writing out into the world?
Who am I to have an opinion about anything! Or share my dumb little normal life with all its boring struggle and intricacy online!? Nobody wants to read my vulnerable shit!
Who actually gives a shit?!
Do I really need to add to the overwhelming amount of noise that humans make at every single second?
And the more annoying:
What will people think?
Will they think you’re stupid?
Self-centered?
Cringe?
All of those crossed my mind while writing this and I’m done! They are not good thoughts and end up leading to worse feelings, and they literally serve no one.
No a one. Zero.
Not a single person benefits from me or you doubting ourselves or overthinking or just not doing the creative work we want to do in this world.
So, like….let’s work through it and not do it anymore, yeah?
Let’s return to those ideas we had ages ago that we squirreled away in the back of our brains. Let’s return to those projects we got really excited about, halfway started, and then abandoned. Let’s return to those shelves of pastels, canvases, paint, magazines, fabric swatches, ink, markers, yarn, beads, and more!
Those ideas and projects deserve it, and so do you.
I’ll be putting out more in December from the main section of my newsletter, but the next installment of Roadblocks will be in January!
I have also been loving when newsletters share things they have enjoyed reading lately, and I want to do that too. I really love the community aspect of Substack and there are just so many writers and creatives sharing each other’s shit all the time. How rad is that?!
So many writers on Substack write about creativity! It’s awesome! Here’s what I enjoyed this past week:
Human Stuff from Lisa Olivera: “Being willing to fail makes trying less scary. Being willing to be wrong makes trying less scary. Being willing to change your mind makes trying less scary. Being willing to be embarrassed makes trying less scary. Being willing to change your mind makes trying less scary. Being willing makes trying less scary.”
Carter Umhau from Peach and Pith: “…I can’t possibly make anything I love without making a bunch of shitty things first, and doing so relentlessly.”
Kara Cutruzzula from Brass Ring Daily: “First drafts are never bad. They’re one step closer to good.”
See you next time,
dins
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I saw when you first posted this and have been meaning to come and read it! Yay for working out fear and perfectionism through just posting stuff! I love the idea of the "Roadblocks" spin-off. Keep going! I'm cheering you on :)