Reading time: Less than 1 minute
This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss a video featuring author Elizabeth Gilbert…..
I watch TED talks all the time but only recently discovered a link to 10 TED talks from authors. If you don’t have the time to listen to Isabelle Allende talk about how to live passionately or Marc Barnett reflect on why a good book is a secret door, then please clear seven minutes in your schedule to hear Elizabeth Gilbert.
The author of the spectacularly successful Eat, Pray, Love, and — to my mind, at least — the ineffably inspirational Big Magic, Gilbert speaks at TED about the drive to keep creating. In this brief but compelling talk, Gilbert shares some of the challenging lessons she learned from the success of her memoir. The book was so outrageously popular, no one thought she could top it. And, of course, she couldn’t. Her next book, Committed, was widely viewed as a failure (although, I actually liked it far better than EPL.) But in her struggle to reestablish her life after her success, she learned her need to return to writing.
Here is some of what she says in the video:
I loved writing more than I loved my own ego…I had to find a way to ensure my creativity survived its own success… [With writing] I will always be safe from the random hurricanes of outcome.
Elizabeth Gilbert may have had 199 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list with Eat, Pray, Love, but I see far more value in her meditations on the value of writing and creativity. Watch her video. And see more author videos, here.