Changing Lanes and Taking Risks

‘Stay in your lane’ is a frequent social media soundbite that is not so much advice as it is admonishment.

And I get it. I do. There’s only so much a millionaire can say about living on the poverty line, for example. Or that an expert on Russian poetry can tell me about when to plant radishes. Unless they also happen to be an expert gardener.

But the shame associated with the ‘Stay in your lane’ criticism can make some of us nervous about taking positive risks and trying something new, something at which we are not already proficient. I would hate to feel ‘boxed in’ because of the fear of others looking down on me for switching lanes.

A couple of years ago, I bit the bullet. I changed lanes.

I was a non fiction writer with three self-published books under my belt. (It was quite an uncomfortable belt, I can tell you.) I was by no means sick of non fiction, but I was also hankering for something new. I wanted to try writing in a radically different genre for the sheer fun of it. I wanted to try non-performative writing: no deadlines, no publishing goals, no tangible outcomes. Just play.

For me, the answer was obvious. As a long-time lover of sci-fi and fantasy, I tried my hand at writing fantasy stories. I had been nursing some tiny, plot-holed fantasy ideas and characters that just wouldn’t leave me alone (fiction writers, holler at me). I had been given some good advice years ago that if an idea persists for, say, three years, it’s probably from God. So I finally put pen (fingers) to paper (iPad) and leapt in.

It has been sheer joy.

Changing writerly lanes without the pressure of ‘Who’s my target market?’ and ‘Will anyone actually read this drivel?’ has been liberating. I have felt free to roam, explore, try, fail, experiment, redraft, fail badly, and play. It may not ever be published. No one may ever read it. Or, worse, people may read it and hate it and say so publicly. It may in fact be a complete dumpster fire. But it’s my dumpster fire. And I love it.

Staying in your lane is fine if that’s your passion or profession. But when it comes to creativity, if you have a different idea or new passion forming, or you’re curious about trying something else, please do. There are no lanes when it comes to art. Cross those boundaries. Colour outside the lines. Take positive risks. Change lanes.

Godspeed to you.

Have you ever switched lanes, creatively or otherwise? How does non-performative play help with changing lanes? Could God be prompting you to try something new? Share your story. Let’s have a countercultural conversation.