Dare To Make An Impression

When you create a work of art, the initial expression is completely pure. It may not be polished, it may not be edited, and parts of it may not even make sense, but it is untainted by public opinion. Of course, as you start to revise, and solicit opinions, and even (gulp) start sending your work out to agents, your work will invariably change. It will become what you (once your left brain is in charge) and they (whomever they happens to be) think it should be. And that’s where you have to be careful.

Not everyone is going to love your work. In fact, some people may hate it. The trick is realizing that sometimes, that’s okay. Of course, you should be open to improving your work. But, be careful not to mainstream all the punch out of it. To satisfy everyone can require that you sacrifice what could be the most compelling parts of your work. In the end, it is completely impossible to satisfy everyone. So, if you get your work to a place where everyone is “okay” with it, it’s quite possible you’ve pushed your work over a cliff into a sea of boredom.

Before you revise to please the masses, remember that a “meh” response is worse than a hate response. Because if your work is strong enough to evoke hate, chances are, in front of the right audience, it is strong enough to evoke love.