What it Means to Create for Yourself
...as there seems to be confusion about that (plus, bonus rant)
I posted something on X the other day that I felt like I needed to further clarify and expand on, as there seems to be confusion and a little debate happening about it from those that don’t seem to understand what was being conveyed by this message.
That message came from something that legendary music producer Rick Rubin said in an interview that has been making the rounds. In fact, I’ll add the clip of it here:
You see, this is what I do. This is how I create with real passion. You will never please everyone. However, my work has found a pretty awesome audience that keeps me pushing forward. By creating solely for myself, I am able to produce my best work and with that, I am able to provide something better for an audience. Not for everyone, because again, you cannot please everyone. Those who try, always fail.
Some seem to not understand this, though, or to say "But isn't this what Disney does? Making stuff for themselves instead of the audience?"
No, not really.
Disney (and other mainstream companies) force an ideology into their work for worthless, very fleeting, hive-mind industry clout. They also paint-by-numbers using their corporate blueprints. This is not the same as creating something that comes from you, for you, but with a passion that shines thru. Thus, attracting an audience because it is authentic and has a sort of purity to it.
While Disney may hire real talent (they tend to not do that, lately), that talent still has their hands tied by their corporate overlords who will massage any personality or passion out of a project that they can in order to convey their ideology and to try and make it palatable for the widest possible audience. They also don’t understand that these two things don’t quite work together.
Additionally, these companies think that they know what the audience needs and wants more than the audience does, and many in that sphere hate their own audience for challenging them on it. However, this is not the same thing as creating for yourself above creating for an audience. This is just corporate ego bullshit bolstered by dumb, mediocre talents desperate to keep working for their failing overlords.
When I set out to write my book series, I set out to write what I wanted in entertainment, which the mainstream was no longer providing for me. Luckily, it attracted others like me who were sick of the bullshit and found something fun, cool, or whatever in what I was creating. I’m thankful as fuck to have fans and it is still weird for me to even use the term “fans” in reference to what I have created.
But still, what I write, it comes from me for me. It has to. I wouldn’t be working this hard to create something that other people want that I’m just not that into. And while I love the feedback of my readers, I can’t let it dictate a direction I do not intend to go with my story and my characters. That’s not to say that feedback and encouragement from fans doesn’t motivate me either, as it sure as fuck does. I think more than those fans even know.
You see, your passion thrives when you do what you love. And if you passionately create something cool that resonates beyond just yourself because it has that genuine touch, people will see it. Hell, they will feel it. Even if it takes time to get there and it is just a small few.
But even a small few passionately loving something that you created for yourself, is better than a sea of casuals just checking out your mass appeal watered down creation simply because it’s the new, big thing in the moment. Those things are always forgotten once the next new, big thing comes out the following week.
Creativity doesn’t fully flow through the veins of those those restrained by chains.
Now, to move on beyond the points I have already made, there has been a growing movement of anti-mainstream consumers over the years. I was one of them and I, for quite awhile, loved listening to certain pop culture YouTube channels that point out every flaw in every “woke” mainstream movie. But after years of these points being made ad nauseum, what’s left to say?
However, many of those channels and their viewers don’t seem to actually want good entertainment and would rather bitch about Disney bullshit for the rest of their lives, hate binging every show, continuing to give their money and time to companies they hate, who hate them back. It’s gotten cultish and fucking weird. It’s just as bad as the political landscape has gotten where everyone subscribes to one extreme or the other, embracing their ideologies and attacking those that don’t fully share their worldview.
It’s also bred some simpletons, which is why Rick Rubin’s statement was so triggering to some within the anti-Disney sect. These are the same people that see “woke” in absolutely everything.
“But muh culture war, bruh?!”
If you bitches want to really win the war, stop giving air to the shit you hate. Find the really good shit out there that you can love. Because, honestly, you’ve become no different than those you hate.
One of the best writing lessons I learned came to me way back when I was in my early college years:
If you don't like what you're writing, your readers will be able to tell.
It's not an absolute truth. Those of us who are skilled enough can use clever wordsmithing to fake it in stories we don't enjoy writing. But this will always have diminishing returns. You can only fake enthusiasm for so long before the cracks show and the audience starts to become wise to it, and once they do then all that work done trying to appease them becomes moot.
No matter the creative endeavor, if you're not creating something that's in part for yourself, if you're not pouring your passion and your soul into it, then you've hamstrung yourself. And really, why do that? It's a lot more fun for ourselves and our audiences if we remain genuine.
To bum a quote off myself, I create for my own amusement. I decided to write music because I hated Top 40 radio. I decided to write stories because I couldn’t find any worth reading. I make movies because I’m a masochist, but that’s another story lol.
It all comes down to making work that is true to yourself and your ideas, because that is where you will naturally be the most passionate, the most intuitive, and the most engaged in bringing the work to life. You HAVE to make it for yourself first, you have to take joy in your craft. Because if you can't enjoy your own work in any capacity, even if you are an intense perfectionist, you're just not doing it right.