For Whom Do We Create?

As creatives, we are accustomed to providing products that speak to the masses. After all, that's what we ourselves are designed to do: Create for others to consume. If no one read the words we wrote, would we still write? If no one looked at the art we created, would we still design?

I like to think so. Creation in and of itself should be for one's self, for the one, rather than for others to use, abuse, or admire. Introducing something new to the world that just one moment before never existed is a miracle, and that should be enough for all of us. Who cares, really, if anyone else sees what we do? The one that matters sees all we create, whether we share it with the world or not. To do that, to create and give back to the creator is more than any of us can hope for. I think that is the greatest contribution we creatives can make, to honor the one from whom all our talent is derived ... the rest, admiration and validation from the masses, is simply to feed the ego, which, from time to time, does need fed.

We all want others to love or hate what we create. We want our work to make an impression on people, good or bad, so long as it evokes emotion and gets people talking. But for most of us, that simply isn't the primary reason for creating our work. We create because we can, because we are driven to express ourselves in an artistic way, moved to use our God-given talent as expected to do so. Admiration and validation are secondary to all of that.

On second thought, I could be wrong about all of this ...

Destroying Good Work

As a writer, I take pride in creating work that is not only well written, but that also is easily read by the target audience. This can be a painstakingly tedius task, consisting of writing and rewriting to get the words and syntax correct, but it's worth it.

When working for a client, you expect changes. After all, they know best what the desired message and its effect are, and in many cases they simply can't get that information across to the writer. So changes will come. And that's okay. It's expected. But then there are the times when you get the message right, and instead of the client focusing on content, they rip the grammar apart, grammar that was once correct and is not anymore. They make a mess of the work you so painstakingly created for them.

This drives me crazy, especially when the problems are created by those who just don't get it. They're not writers. They're not editors. Their expertise lies elsewhere. And therein lies the problem...