It’s Only Too Late When You’re Dead
Okay, that’s pretty blunt. But lately I have been seeing a number of variations on the theme of “is it too late for me to pursue my dream of writing?” (or any other dream) and frankly, it’s starting to make me a little frustrated. Why spend energy fretting and worrying about whether or not it’s “too late” to do something? Yes, we live in a culture that celebrates youth, but that gives us a skewed idea that if we haven’t done something by a particular age, we shouldn’t bother doing it at all.
The thing is, that “ideal age” is often arbitrary, existing only inside our heads. Of course, if it’s something that has a physical limitation, yes, it may have an actual timeline: it’s hard to think you’re going to start gymnastics at age 50 and become an Olympian. Which doesn’t mean you can’t start gymnastics anyway! But where creative work is concerned, a lifetime of experience can be an asset, no matter when you start. Like anything else to do with creative work, what matters is what you do today, not what you did or didn’t do in the past.
Of course, we might also have a lifetime of experiences that tell us all the reasons why we shouldn’t, say, write the novel that’s been cooking in our heads for twenty years. Voices of parents, teachers, or others that say we were never very talented anyway, or we’ll never make any money, or….
But that doesn’t mean we have to listen to those voices. Or the one inside your head wailing, “But what if it takes me five years?!” So? You will be five years older, whether you spend that time writing a novel, or binging Netflix. If you want to, you will always find an excuse not to write. The time will never be perfect. You will feel fear, doubt, and discomfort, no matter whether you start at 20, 40, or 60.
Feal the Fear and Do it Anyway is the title of a book by Susan Jeffers about facing down fear and taking action, and it might well be a mantra to lead you in a new direction. You might have to contend with the fear of failure, of looking foolish, of not achieving what you hoped, of disapproval from friends and family. Do it anyway. You have one life – yours – and you are the only one who can decide whether or not you get to write. Start with 15 minutes.
Julia Cameron’s new book, It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again is basically The Artist’s Way for the newly-retired, and she tackles head-on this idea that it might be too late to do creative work. In it, she uses her time-honored tools: Morning Pages, Artist Dates, Weekly Walks; and adds Memoir questions designed to help unearth creative impulses and beliefs. Although it’s geared toward those in retirement, it can be good for anyone in midlife on who needs gentle encouragement to do what they feel it is in their heart to do, but may have been covered over by a lifetime of working for others, having a “sensible” job or building a career, and ignoring or putting off creative work.
Jane Friedman has a webinar in her “Sunday Sermon” series on the writing life coming up on 9/27: “It’s Not Too Late: A Conversation with Martha Woodruff”: https://www.janefriedman.com/sunday-business-sermons/ . It’s free to register for, and this one is described as “Author Martha Woodroof was 67 years old when her debut novel, SMALL BLESSINGS, was released from Macmillan. Join Jane and Martha as we discuss the common fear that one has become too old (or that it's somehow too late) to write and publish.”
Finally, BoredPanda has compiled a list of tweets from a thread created by someone who was tired of hearing about amazing feats of the under-40s. A great dose of inspiration! https://www.boredpanda.com/life-after-40-people-share-what-they-accomplished/
I have coaching clients in their 50s – 70s. In fact, I know many writers who are 50+ (myself included) who feel they are just getting started, and there is no shame in that. When it comes to creative work, age is just a number. George Eliot said, “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” What can you do today to be who you want to be?
