I’m also an extrovert (and a bit of an exhibitionist) and after spending my day working from home, my husband is inevitably faced with a flood of conversation. I want to tell him about my day and about how one of our dogs kept losing her ball under the couch or how I’m just not sure what one my characters is trying to tell me. I know I’m lucky that he finds my babbling to be one of my endearing qualities, but I also know that he can’t be my sole support when it comes to my creative endeavours. He experiences creativity in a very different way than I do, and sometimes he just doesn’t understand my perspective or need for validation. What he can do is encourage me to put myself out there and submit stories to publishers, continue finding ways to work from home so I can focus on my novel, or point out the flaws in my project plans. He keeps me grounded, which is why we work so well from a relationship perspective.

From a creative perspective though, I need something more. I love talking to people about the creative process, and I’ve made some fantastic friends online who engage in picking apart their own methodology. I need critical feedback and I’ve found a helpfully brutal critique group. I also need to be nurtured, and I’ve been reaching out to friends who can fill the role of cheerleader or who will listen to me brainstorm when I’m stuck.

As an artist, if you feel alone, think about the different friends and acquaintances you have. Make plans to have coffee and see what their reaction is to your creative projects. Or try engaging people you’ve met online by sending an email with something you’re working on. One of them might just surprise you and fill a role that you didn’t even know needed to be filled. For example, the other day, one of my friends offered to read everything I’ve written. He’s a voracious reader, and even though I warned him he would be receiving unfinished first drafts, he seemed excited and interested in seeing what I was putting out. For me though, it means that I need to turn out something, anything, by the end of today (which thankfully I have), and adds a level of accountability that I need in my life. This blog serves a similar role and it inspires me to continue creating and finishing new things to post. You may find that you need different things in your life, such as someone who will text message you every morning saying “get up and write” or maybe someone who will go to art shows with you.

Be aware though that you can’t ask a person to fill a role they’re not capable of filling. If you turn to someone looking for validation, but all they give you is criticism, then stop turning to them. All that’s going to do is destroy your confidence and discourage you from completing any work. Or if they’re great at listening to you talk about the minute differences in materials you work with, but never add anything to the conversation, don’t get frustrated with them. Instead, be as specific as you can about what you need from them and then respect their decision about how involved they want to be.

And finally, don’t forgot to appreciate the support you receive, whether by verbally thanking the person or gifting them with something you’ve created just for them, becuase their support will feed your muse and help you accomplish your goals.

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I know a lot of musicians who spend ever waking moment rehearsing so that their sound is perfect. They invest in a lot of expensive equipment, practice with their bandmates so that they can sound tight, and when they’re on stage they pay attention to what’s coming out of their stage monitors. All of that focus on how they sound is what drives a great musical performance.

But it’s not enough.

Seeing a band live means that there is a visual component, and it’s not enough to pick out a snazzy outfit and headbang at appropriate moments. The opening band I saw had a lot of promise but some of the lead singers movements seemed like the kind of thing you saw at another show and thought they looked cool. They unfortunately didn’t, and just made him look twitchy and drunk.

I’m sure there are people that disagree and are able to tune out idiotic gyrating on stage, focusing on just the music, but if you’re performing and hoping to pick up new fans, you can’t risk alienating those who are visually-oriented. Especially, since it’s a fairly easy fix.

When you’re at the point where you’re no longer worried about how you sound as a band, set-up your rehearsal space so that it approximates a stage, and then set up a video camera in front so that it captures everyone’s movements. This isn’t just for the lead singer either – guitar and bassist can also detract from a performance by standing woodenly on stage, effectively draining out any energy the lead singer can whip up out of the audience. Once you’ve recorded a few songs, view them as a group. Critique the movements. Don’t just stop at “oh, that’s cool”, but really dig into what looks weird, what you do too often, what expression you thought looks soulful but doesn’t really work. When you’re done, keep the best ones, then think about what else you can do. Repeat until you look like pros.

Oh, and the headliner? Had fans set-up at the front of the stage, not because of the heat, but because it made the lead singers hair billow during the performance. In the hands of a less experienced band it would have looked cheesy, but for these guys it only made them look awesome. They had long curly hair, and more importantly their movements were unrushed and fluid, so that when they did stand back into the fans it only added to their performance, never detracting from it. Instead of picking apart their movement, I was able to sit back and enjoy the show.

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