Find your people

There’s a lot to be said for working alone: total creative freedom. No compromises. No explaining your half-finished ideas. No disagreements about direction, schedules, money, or who put how much effort in.

But there's a reason artists are drawn to cities.

Just being around people gives you infinitely more impulses – raw material for ideas. The more sparks in your field of vision, the more ideas to choose from — and the better your work has a chance of becoming.

My solo era

I've been in a few bands where I was the songwriter, composer, administrator, front performer, booker. And eventually I got tired of people coming and going, being unreliable, having their own lives. So I quit my own band, bought some music software and got to work.

The joke was on me though, because I quickly realised there was no “inspired drums” button. No “Hey Nora, we got this” feature. No "my cousin has a studio" upgrade.

There were also no deadlines. Without regular rehearsals and the terrifying prospect of showing up with nothing, I fell out of regular practice. It felt more and more like a chore to get started, a struggle to keep going, and impossible to finish anything at all.

For years, I kept going like that – banging my head against the virtual wall. And at least once, the physical one.

Valid concerns

But maybe you are a lone genius. Maybe you don't need inspiration or deadline panic, you just churn out projects like clockwork.

Maybe you don’t have time for group activities. Time for planning, scheduling, or chasing people up. Maybe being social takes more energy than it gives, and community feels like another to-do.

But even if that’s the case — and you need time to recover afterwards — I promise you still reap the benefits.

The risk of letting people in

But let's say you start a project and decide to bring someone in – or join something already in motion. What if it turns out not to be right? Maybe you're looking for casual, and they want commitment. Will you have to break up with them? What if they leave you?

All of that can happen. It probably will, if you do it enough. It's like dating — just creative relationship management. The best you can do is to be open about who you are and what you want, give people a chance, and be honest about how it's going. You'll learn something every time.

Why it works

A really strong success factor for habit formation (like creating), is identifying with what you do. Hanging out, being seen by, and creating with likeminded people turns you into someone who creates. And before you know it, you feel like one too.

As humans we're wired to seek validation from each other. We’re just out here trying to survive on the savannah, and finding likeminded people can make that feel a whole lot safer. Especially if you're underrepresented in your field or identity, finding the right squad can make all the difference.

More people involved also means exponentially more personal connections. That means far more access to spaces, skills, deals and opportunities.

Good enough for now, safe to try

I say all this as a perfectionist introvert with commitment phobia. I love being alone. I often feel socially hungover after events. I’m terrified of disappointing people and deeply dislike showing work I’m not happy with—even to those who want to help make it better.

It's ok to be cautious about involving others in your work. People are messy. They're opinionated, unpredictable, sometimes late. But they're also funny, inspiring, generous, capable, and weird in all the best ways.

If a collaboration doesn't work out, it's not the end of the world. It's just another data point, a little more clarity on what you need from creative partners.

Maybe shared vision matters less to you in the end than compatible energy. Maybe circadian rhythm turns out to be a dealbreaker. Maybe you don’t want to make things together — just side by side. Maybe you join an online challenge, or take a class.

Whatever shape it takes — a group chat, a side-by-side studio day, an online collab — bringing someone else in can spark surprising depth and momentum in your work.

Your turn

Are there concerns I didn’t mention, but should have? Have you made something with others that you couldn’t have made alone? Or would you like to, but don’t know where to start?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!