Creative Corner

I wasn't sure this would be the right forum but I think it might.

Fellow artists, creators, writers, animators, poets...

Are/were you also terrified of sharing your content online or with strangers?
If yes, how do you cope with that?
Is there any advice you can offer me on how to overcome this fear?

No matter what I do, I am absolutely scared of sharing my creative pieces with people even though I really want to. The idea of strangers reading what I create it's paralysing to me and I'd love to hear if any other creators out there feel/felt the same and how you dealt with this.

I'm desperate at this point, because I don't know what I'm doing wrong or what I should be doing to overcome my fear.

I recently took a writing course, because I love writing and creating stories and characters. Today we had a Zoom meeting where we'd share a piece of writing and everybody did - but me. I left the Zoom meeting absolutely heart broken because I really wanted to do it, and had picked a small piece of creative writing I was proud of to share but when the time came I just... Said I didn't want to do it, but I did want to. Just talking to them made me so embarrassed, even though the atmosphere was nice, everybody offered good feedback to each other and the tutor was really gentle, guiding the whole thing through.

I don't have this crippling fear at my day-to-day job - I've given presentations, courses and I do work with a creative job as a Graphic Designer. It's just with my personal / hobby creations that I feel this dread that others may see it and idk, form opinions of it.


I'm just unsure how I should be tackling this fear, if I should be seeking a therapist, or what.

I mean it, if you have any similar feeling, it would be great to talk and hear how you've overcome this fear, how you've tackled it or what. If you're not comfortable posting please reach out through DM (trust me, it's taken me one breakdown and a lot of tears to gather enough courage to come here and post this so I totally understand).

Thanks for reading.

@Mudy Hey, you're not alone, I feel this too! I'm an artist and writer so I struggle with this feeling all the time. I've posted a bit of my work on this website but it still makes me super anxious knowing it's up there. Don't worry, this is something lots of people struggle with so you don't have to feel like there's something wrong with you or something along those lines. However, I will preface this by saying getting help is always recommended. You don't have to have severe mental illnesses to go talk to a therapist. If you feel you need to talk to a professional, do it. There's nothing to lose, and it never hurts.

There's not much I do to help cope with this feeling, but maybe what I do could help you a bit. The very first thing I try to remind myself of is no one is expecting the absolute most of you. No one is expecting you to pull a perfect masterpiece out of nowhere. We're all human, and most people know we're not perfect. In addition to this, you don't owe anyone perfect content. Sharing your creativity is like letting someone into your soul, trust me, I know, I've been there.

Now let's look at this from a positive outlook. This usually helps me the most. Remember you can connect with other people like you/people who have similar interests like this! I've met some of my good friends like this. And guess what? just writing this post roped me in. I'm usually not big on talking online simply because it takes so much mental effort on my part, but I'm trying! Knowing you struggle with the same things I do has made me want to help you as much as I can. I know how hard all of this can be.

Nothing negative is going to happen from sharing your work unless you run to people that suck. Now here's what you gotta remember for that: Some people just suck. It's best to ignore them. Don't let them control your feelings, you control those. In addition to this, if you're like me, you will use the negative comments to make yourself better. I know this is hard to do, but it is possible. Honestly, if someone in my life didn't tell me that my story "wasn't creative enough" I wouldn't have made it into what it is today! It's all about finding the silver lining in hard situations. Even if you don't think it's there, it usually always is. (Even if you only see it years later).

Another thing I would suggest is taking baby steps. Don't look at this as something you need to conquer tomorrow because it's impossible. Though, I'm sure you know that. But you know what's not impossible? Sharing one little sentence with a trusted friend. You don't have to move at the speed of light here, take your time. Honestly, if you even want someone new to share your work with, I'm open to talking to. I personally love hearing about ocs, stories, anything creative. Of course, this is only a suggestion, so don't worry if you don't want to do that! But, if you do, it won't be one-sided, I'll happily share some of my work with you too! (it'll help me get over the same fear, haha!)

I'm sure there's more I can say but I don't want to make this post super long. However, if you want to talk more about this I'm open to it! You're not alone in this, and I fully believe you can push through it! You've got this!

@Mudy

It definitely takes a lot of courage to share your work with other people!

As TopTiredPigeon mentioned, you are definitely not alone. I would also suggest having someone you trust a lot and sharing you work exclusively with them, maybe just ideas, maybe actual sentences and paragraphs if you’re able! There is nothing more encouraging than having that one friend or family member who is constantly excited and cheering your work on.

I find the anonymity of being online helps me mentally detach my work from myself, but it can be a different experience for everyone.