2024 Intention: Write Deeper into STORY
Stories Transform Our Realities Year
"The acquired ability to critique oneself
is the fuse of great art and the silver bullet of the pros.”
-- Robert Genn
Some life mentors we never meet in person yet they change the very marrow of our being. The noted Canadian artist, Robert Genn mentored me (and thousands of others) through his newsletter The Painter’s Keys (now being carried on after his death by his daughter Sara).
Years ago, Genn prompted me to write my first set of self-critique criteria for my digital art and now returns again in this new beginning to encourage more stretching on this Substack journey.
The freedom of focusing of intentions rather than goals
For some years now, I've focused on intentions rather than goals, although, for a moment, Substack pulled me back into goal setting (subscribers, views, revenue). It didn’t take long to recognize the vice grip of fear that came with that focus as I tried to write what I thought would shift those numbers. However, somewhere along the line sanity (for me) returned and prompted me to remember Robert Genn and write new newsletter intentions for 2024.
I know I will not be able to do these perfectly, but I am posting them to remind myself of the writer I want to be and offer publicly my own Content Guidelines.
May 2024 be a year of learning and peace for all of us.
Focus Intention: Gather and write deeper into STORY
(Stories Transform Our Realities Year)
Gather and share stories - stories that transform and connect us, that celebrate the human spirit, and gift of hope... or even transformative despair, explaining a bit of the human condition.
Connect - Create an experience and/or understanding of what connects us all. Focus on human wants and needs.
Ask questions that invite us to ponder our own circumstances - Inviting and respecting engagement.
Be honest and open- Write from a depth of experience or understanding or personal wondering. Share personal learnings and failures; never preach.
Follow curiosity and synchronicity - Dig beneath the surface of anything that interests me. Explore the multi-facets of all subjects and keep learning. Recognize and follow synchronicities.
Be daring - Take risks. Say things that might not be right but never say something I know isn't true. Take imaginative leaps, embrace controversy, learn from criticism. Break the rules. Eliminate cliches.
Respect time attention ... mine and the reader's - Eliminate tepid words and stories. Slash self-serving tales. Let images and metaphors carry water.
Be generous. Give readers my best. Share credit, gratitude, and praise freely.
Dig deep. Nothing is too small to be interesting because everything is connected to everything.
"Substack pulled me back into goal setting (subscribers, views, revenue)... However, somewhere along the line sanity (for me) returned."
A powerful illusion, isn't it? :)
This was a good one with a lot to mull over. Thank you!