Every time one of our three sons approached his mid-teens—you know, that time when they want to learn to drive, attend late-night parties, and start experimenting with alcohol and other things you don’t want to even imagine—I yearned to install a very tall tower in our backyard and stick that son in it. A tower with only a window, with a ladder that Bob or I could put up or take down. That way, I’d always know where that son was and that he was safe.
But no one in their right mind would do that to their kid. Right? 
So imagine how desperately protective (and possessive)that witch felt about Rapunzel when she put her in that tower.
Seems reasonable. That witch had to go to work every day to gather her herbs and to see her clients, leaving her precious “daughter” alone. Who knows what trouble could have befallen Rapunzel without the safety of that tower? After all, the world is a very scary and dangerous place!
Ironically, even though Rapunzel couldn’t get out into the world, the world came to her…in the form of a hunky prince.
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, that I may climb the golden stair.”
Who wouldn’t let in a hunky prince? Even though told to never, never, never let in strangers. After all, the world is a scary and dangerous place.
Still, a hunky prince. Someone never seen before. So different… And the world enters.
As as writers and creatives, we think of our creative work as our children. We gestate them, incubate them, give birth to them, and then help them develop. Understandably, we also want to protect them from the harsh realities of the world outside.
After all, the world is a scary and dangerous place.
So, to keep our projects safe, you and I wall them up with excuses…
“I need to do another revision.”
“I should add one more to the series.”
“I should get some recommendations (or testimonials or blurbs) first.”
“I don’t think it’s perfect yet.”
But consider this…
Why did the witch put Rapunzel in that tower? Was it really to protect Rapunzel? Would you want to be Rapunzel? Oh, maybe for a few hours or a day, but for years? Forever?
The witch walled up Rapunzel not to protect her but to protect the witch’s own feelings. I wanted to put our sons in that tower to keep them safe, yes, but more so I wouldn’t have to experience the emotional wear and tear and worry of those three teenage sons.
Your creative work desires life beyond the walls of your studio. As with the parent who gives life to a child, you are only the vehicle , the channel, the bridge for, as Kahlil Ghibran says, “life’s longing for itself,” for your creative idea to move from non-physical to physical form. From within you to within the world.
What project do you need to release from imprisonment in the tower you’ve built? Isn’t it time to let down your hair, release fears and worries about that scary, dangerous world, and let your creative children move out into a wider realm of possibilities?
If you’d like some time away to prepare your book or other creative work to venture out into the world then check out my Masks & Shadows Writing & Creativity Retreat. If you’d like some help tearing down those walls, getting over perfectionism and playing it safe with your creative work, then email me, so you can be free to get inspired and make it real.