Being Found Out

I feel like I've talked a lot about this writing book I've been reading: Writing Alone, Writing Together: A Guide for Writers and Writing Groups. No matter, I feel like saying something more.

The author is unafraid to acknowledge—regularly, even—that creative people are insecure. I appreciate that. We are insecure. We deal with rejection all the time (if we're doing our jobs), we have on-again, off-again relationships with the work that sustains us. We bare our hearts to the world and hope they stand up to critique. That's why a passage like this really speaks to me:

Even as much as we want to be part of a writing group, many of us suffer anxiety about joining one. We're afraid of making the commitment, afraid that maybe we're not good enough. We don't want to look foolish or be found out (that we can't write, that we're fakes, that our writing is mediocre or worse).

Reading it in plain text makes it seem okay. Well, if other artists feel this way, even established, successful, and/or respected artists, then it must be acceptable for me to struggle once in a while, too.