When other peoples' opinions matter to you, and you bend to them in order to seek approval, in a useless quest for "prestige", you are on a fool's errand. When Tolkien was writing Lord of The Rings, his colleagues laughed at him, told jokes about him, and his only encouragement came from fellow author, C.S. Lewis. Lewis rightly told him to be himself, and to do what made him happy, which, for the rest of us, resulted in the creation of the fantasy fiction genre, and which has entertained, and bewitched, countless millions of people. Forget prestige. I certainly haven't sought prestige in writing a blog about law, poetry, philosophy and whatever else comes into my mind each day. While I am certainly not comparing myself to great authors like Tolkien and Lewis, I am arguing that true creativity doesn't come from seeking the approval of others, nor the "prestige" conferred by public opinion. Be yourself. Write what you want. You are the only person in the world you have to impress.
"Tolkien, Lewis, and another writer named Charles Williams were part of an informal literary club known as The Inklings.
Shortly after Williams unexpectedly died, Lewis realized he stopped hearing the way Tolkien used to laugh at the way Williams used to tell a joke. Which made him then realize, “In each of my friends,” Lewis wrote, “there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets.”
If not for the encouragement of his friend, Tolkien said he would not have been large enough to call the whole of him into activity.
“But for [Lewis'] interest and unceasing eagerness for more,” Tolkien said, “I should never have brought The L. of the R. to a conclusion.”
“Just do what you like, and let prestige take care of itself.” — Paul Graham
Written by Billy Oppenheimer"
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