I’m an artist who works in a number of fields. I even consider my work as a magazine interviewer an art, because I try, with my interview subjects, to collaborate on the creation of a unified narrative about their work. And as an artist, one of the most rewarding things I’ve experienced has been what I call the “Art of Letting Go.”
What do I mean by that?
When I was very young, one of my first gigs was writing radio plays.
I can’t tell you the joy I felt during the very first read-through of my very first play when one actor in particular who played the heavy portrayed the character in a way I’d have never, ever have imagined that character to be played. I was a twenty-something, inexperienced shithead, and this guy took what I’d handed him and made it into gold. During that read-through, when this guy (whom I can’t name, because he’s SAG, and he was performing under the table with a pseudonym) brought his prodigious talent to my newbie words, my eyes dried out, because I didn’t blink as I read along as he recited what I’d written and completely rewrote it with his own artistry.
That was the first time I’d Let Go as an artist, and trusted my art to another person, and experienced the magic of what they brought.
Letting Go of Your Art is an Art.
And it’s an incredibly rewarding Art.
As an author, I’ve been blessed with never having a shitty book cover or illustration. Something I’ll never forget is when Tor’s Art Director Irene Gallo grabbed me by the hand and yanked me through the Tor offices to show me the glorious cover that Cliff Nielsen created for my first book, Dawn Song. I was stunned at the sight of it. I worked closely with my dear friend Gabrielle Faust to create the cover and interiors art of my collection Stories from the Plague Years, and I got a lot of joy out of that collaboration. (I hope she did, too!) Erik Mohr did gorgeous covers for ChiZine’s reissues of my work.
It’s a beautiful thing to inspire beauty.
And you can only create that beauty by Letting Go of your Art, and let someone else’s Art come to bear upon it.
As a circus aerialist who has worked with partners (both in the aerial apparatus and with coaches and choreographers and teachers on the ground), I can say it’s truly magical to be suspended in the air, to completely trust your partner and create something new.
Which brings me to novella-length scenario I wrote for Evil Overlord Games‘ Susurrus: Season of Tides, entitled “Angels of Our Better Nature”.
That’s a pretty great title, huh?
“Angels of Our Better Nature”.
I love it.
Guess what?
It’s not mine.
My title was totally lame. It was basically, “The Bad Guys”. On par with calling Dawn of the Dead something like The Mall Zombies.
I don’t know who at Evil Overlord came up with that title, but God bless them. I’ll probably find out tomorrow. Might have to send that person a fruit basket.
And do you see that beautiful illustration at the top of this blog post?
Here, I’m going to post it again.
That illustration is the work of Duncan Eagleson, whom I’m sure most folks know from his incredible work on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.
The illustration depicts a character I created for “Angels of Our Better Nature” whom, quite frankly, I’m very proud of and very fond of. I’m very attached to that character, and I let her go, entrusting her to Duncan’s monstrously talented hands.
I just saw the illustration for the first time tonight.
She looks nothing… at all!… like how I envisioned her while writing the scenario.
Yes, Duncan got down the basics of what I described in the character sketch I submitted.
But in terms of essence… no.
That’s not the character I envisioned.
And I absolutely adore this illustration of that character so near and dear to my heart.
Opening the file of the illustration tonight, I had that wonderful, giddy feeling of Letting Go. I tasted the magic of it.
It’s intoxicating.
Just like what happened at that read-through of my play almost 30 years ago, my eyes dried out… experiencing something beautiful that someone crafted from something I’d made.
And that I’d let go.
Look at this illustration.
I truly hope, some day and somehow, you can see the beauty of it in the way that I am privileged to.
Inside the mind of author Michael Marano 