What is your greatest fear? A common question. I can't say there's a single greatest fear of mine-- at least as far as my fears play into my creative process-- but there are at least five fighting for precedence. In no particular order:
1. People won't "get it." They'll look at something I did and say "Okay, but what was the point of that?"
But: Do they need to get it? My work doesn't need to be validated by everyone around me; and if even one person "gets it," or pretends to get it, then that should be enough of a weight off my shoulders.
2. I won't like it. I'll look at something I did and lament the tangled mess it resulted in.
But: I'll learn from it, even if the only thing I learned is "never try something quite like that again."
3. It won't be unique. I'll have overlooked something, and someone will say to me "Hey, that's exactly like what this person made last year."
But: The concept may be similar, but it'll still have my unique touch. If I thought of it, independently, it is still my work and I can still be proud of it.
4. People will laugh at it-- or, just as bad, they won't laugh at it, if it was intended to be funny. If I have to explain it, it probably isn't funny.
But: Well, if they laugh at something not intended to be humorous, at least my work's extending their lives. If they don't laugh, then they probably just need their sense of humor fine-tuned.
5. If it's for a class, I'll be graded poorly on it; or, as an extension of that, my grade won't reflect my effort.
But: At the end of the day the grade shouldn't matter, or at least not matter nearly enough as the result of my labors.
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