Learning to share

I'm going to give a piece of advice to beginning artists (and the rest of you). It's something that I wish I had learned five years ago:

You are not a genius. 

It's not all about you. 

You don't know everything.

It is important to contribute to the field you wish to pursue. You want to help pave the road that you want to drive on someday. 

Often writers privately consider themselves to be superior to their colleagues. It is this selfish attitude that keeps them from being active and supportive in the field. They want to be published in literary journals that they don't read. They want to be published while they do nothing to help the publishing industry, like buying books.

If you want to be successful in your field, then become an active part of it. If you are a writer: read a lot, buy books, write reviews for those books. Encourage your fellow writers by reading their work and giving them constructive criticism. You'll learn a lot more about your industry and will ultimately benefit from having a sharing attitude.

I decided to take this class because I have not been a good citizen, I have not supported my fellow artists in the ways that I should. I have been selfish and closed off from the writing community. This is something that I want to change, this class will help me arrive at this goal.