Savannah Watson

Recently, a friend and I did a question-and-answer activity that I heard about on a podcast. This specific set of questions is scientifically said to strengthen the bond between two people, so naturally, I was curious. There were some very interesting questions, but the one really caught my attention and made me think:

“Do you want to be famous? In what way?”

My answer was:

“I want my work to be known, but I, as a person, don’t want to be famous.”

What I mean is that I would love my writing, my stories, my novella or novels to be known. I would love to make someone smile or laugh with a witty one-liner in one of my novels. I would love to make people feel deep empathy, compassion, hatred, love for my characters. I would love to comfort someone through my words, so they know they are not the only one who feels this way – as other authors do and have always done for me.

But I do not want to be famous. I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I don’t want my life to be public knowledge. I want to have personal privacy.

People have a very difficult time separating The Artist from The Art. When the author says or does something that a person or group of people disagree with (whether it is right or wrong is not the argument here), the book suddenly loses its value.

That’s what can happen when the lines get blurred.

But The Art did nothing wrong. The Art is still just the same as it was.

The solution? The Artist stays out of the limelight and lets The Art shine on its pedestal. Is this practical? No, probably not. Even people who use pen names often have their true identities discovered – because who doesn’t love a good mystery (and a secret identity is definitely a good mystery)?

Can The Artist truly be kept separate from The Art? I don’t know, but my answer remains.

“I want my work to be known, but I, as a person, don’t want to be famous.”

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