Make It Up

In “Make It Up,” the author explores the nuanced rela­tion­ship between self-doubt and cre­ativ­i­ty, acknowl­edg­ing that while self-doubt can occa­sion­al­ly fuel the artis­tic process, it more often hin­ders the begin­ning, com­ple­tion, and shar­ing of cre­ative work. The chap­ter sug­gests a pow­er­ful counter-strat­e­gy: low­er­ing the stakes and per­ceiv­ing each artis­tic endeav­or as a small, exper­i­men­tal step in a con­tin­u­ous jour­ney rather than a defin­ing moment. This per­spec­tive invites a play­ful, exper­i­men­tal approach to cre­ativ­i­ty, where the out­come is sec­ondary to the expe­ri­ence of mak­ing art itself. The belief that there’s no right or wrong in cre­ativ­i­ty helps mit­i­gate the pres­sure of per­fec­tion­ism, mak­ing the process enjoy­able and free­ing artists to pro­duce work suc­ces­sive­ly and with ease.

The author shares prac­ti­cal advice for over­com­ing cre­ative inse­cu­ri­ties, includ­ing label­ing and nor­mal­iz­ing doubts as a way to dimin­ish their pow­er. Through sto­ries of artists who have faced and over­come their cre­ative fears, the chap­ter illu­mi­nates the impor­tance of active­ly choos­ing cre­ativ­i­ty over suc­cumb­ing to fear, even when the fear nev­er ful­ly dis­si­pates. It draws a dis­tinc­tion between doubt­ing one’s work, which can be con­struc­tive, and doubt­ing one’s self, which is invari­ably dam­ag­ing.

The nar­ra­tive also touch­es on the con­cept of imper­fec­tion in art, sug­gest­ing that imper­fec­tions can some­times be what make a work tru­ly great. The author uses the Lean­ing Tow­er of Pisa and the Japan­ese art of kintsu­gi as metaphors for embrac­ing and accen­tu­at­ing flaws, both in our cre­ations and our­selves. These imper­fec­tions, whether in art or the artist, are pre­sent­ed not as short­com­ings but as unique char­ac­ter­is­tics that add depth and beau­ty to cre­ative expres­sion.

“Make It Up” advo­cates for embrac­ing the messy, imper­fect process of cre­ation and encour­ages artists to see their inse­cu­ri­ties not as bar­ri­ers but as oppor­tu­ni­ties to forge a deep­er con­nec­tion with their work and their audi­ence. Through embrac­ing imper­fec­tion and redefin­ing suc­cess, cre­atives are urged to find free­dom and joy in their artis­tic pur­suits.