We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sara Century a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

My worst failures were any time I let my perfectionism halt or destroy a personal project. Giving up on projects I believed in by reasoning that I could just move on to the next thing cost me a lot of learning experiences when I was younger. Today, I know that working through roadblocks with patience is how you learn to truly love the process of making art, even in those times when it’s not fun or glamorous (which, to be clear, I love my work, but it is seldom either of those things).

As a working creative, I fail at least a little pretty much every day. It might sound bleak, but accepting it as a truth is so vital to my mental health. Whether that failure is not marking every item off of my to-do list, getting a rejection letter, or having to take on work I’m not exactly thrilled about, I fail often, and it’s a good thing. It’s how you learn what you’re doing wrong, but also what you’re doing right. Stick with it because, regardless of anything, a finished product is always better than no product at all.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been a working creative for most of my life, so the phrase “jack of all trades” doesn’t even begin to describe it. Making zines and hustling them at punk shows was my first foray into the world of the working artist, and I’ve never looked back. Today, I work as a horror writer, as well as doing commercial work through my photo/video production company, Sympathetic Lightning. Becoming a business owner was transformative, as my various interests have become more singular through the process. Though I still work in many mediums, the important thing is that I always deliver a very unique style and experience that is 100% my own.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I worked as a journalist covering entertainment topics for several years, but the closing of several industry staples during the early days of the pandemic forced me to reconsider that career. Work became much more difficult to come by, and publications now often had strict SEO-adherent guidelines that I found creatively stifling. The best thing to come of this was a renewed interest in working on my own projects, as well as finding a more sustainable route to commercial work by establishing my own company. Though it was a painful shift for me, it was also a necessary one, so today I feel grateful that I had to reexamine my work in that way.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’s twofold because part of what’s so incredible about being a creative is the connections you make along the way. The relationships I’ve built with like-minded people mean absolutely everything to me. Pretty much my entire social network came from being a creative, so there is no separating my work from my life at this point. The other side of the “connections” coin is that it improves my relationship with myself. There is so much joy in excelling at something, or putting so much work into a project before anyone else even knows it exists just because you believe in it. Giving myself space to always keep learning is what has kept me engaged in my work. Especially as a middle-aged creative, it’s very important to keep loving what you do and to continue to find joy in it, even with the inevitable struggle it entails. The more time goes on, the more I want to keep challenging myself, and I love that.

Contact Info:

• Website: saracentury.com, sympatheticlightning.com, bitchesoncomics.com
• Instagram: @saracentury

Image Credits

These are all to be credited to me except the logo for Bitches On Comics, which can be credited to Emma Mallinen @ https://emmamallinen.com/