Shame can act as a motivating factor rather than retrogressive components towards one career. Zadie Smith identifies the importance of shame in writing and other contextual occasions. According to Zadie, shame must be integral for any writer to achieve their creative writing goals (Louisiana Channel, 2018). She states that shame is a propellant towards success rather than a hindrance. In the example given, she states that most comedians perform live events by making funny statements in front of big audiences because of shame. The shame comedians face before performance is the most integral component sustaining their career (Louisiana Channel, 2018). Similarly, a writer who is ashamed of writing more than 400 pages of a novel with no known audience succeeds. Generally, Zadie urges writers to acknowledge shame and use it as a motivation toward writing.
Zadie objects to the feeling of pride among writers if they want to be successful. According to Zadie, pride tends to derail the progress of most writers (Louisiana Channel, 2018). For example, if a writer composes a novel that gains publicity and starts to feel proud, they are less likely to gain a similar audience in their consecutive works. Additionally, Zadie claimed that pride might be toxic as individuals start associating themselves with the success of others (Louisiana Channel, 2018). This association often makes one blind towards their accomplishments, which ultimately yields ineffectual writers.
The most crucial lesson from Zadie’s interview is turning rage into curiosity. According to Zadie, most people are furious about weird situations because they lack understanding (Louisiana Channel, 2018). Zadie gives an example of the Whites who often get filled with rage when collectivity excludes them (Louisiana Channel, 2018). For writers, rage presents an opportunity to identify interest and garner curiosity. Suppose a writer is subjected to racial bias instead of feeling angry at the other party. In that case, they can use this situation to write about racism, and the varied situations in that color bias are manifested (Louisiana Channel, 2018). Unequivocally, turning rage into an opportunity was my biggest lesson from Zadie Smith’s interview.
Reference
Louisiana Channel. (2018). Zadie Smith Interview: On Shame, Rage and Writing[Video]. YouTube.