George Lucas has never seen Star Wars

In a 2012 interview with Oprah, George Lucas said something that threw me for a loop. As he puts it, “the biggest problem I’ll have is that I never got to see Star Wars.”

To be clear, George Lucas has literally watched the film Star Wars. But that’s not to say that he’s ever really seen it. Think about what audiences across the world experienced when they sat in theaters and went on that mesmerizing adventure. Lucas never got that because, as he describes, he was in the eye of a hurricane.

This has broader implications too. Think of your favorite groundbreaking artist. Has J.K. Rowling has ever read Harry Potter? Has Lin-Manuel Miranda ever experienced Hamilton? Hell, has Beyonce ever heard Lemonade?

While most of us haven’t produced culture-shifting works of art like those artists, there is something relatable here. Lucas is putting into words something you will inevitably face as someone who makes stuff. The act of creating anything comes with a cost – the loss of your objectivity. The more time you spend with a project, the harder it is to see that thing for what it is. This makes it harder to spot the problems (and solutions) that are obvious to those with fresh eyes.

I experience this firsthand when I’m writing. It’s fascinating to send people drafts, because they always mention things that I’ve never considered, or point out problems that are right under my nose. I’ve learned that the best thing I can do is set a story aside for a few months right when I finish the first draft. When I return to it, I’m the closest I can get to being objective again.

Choosing to make something inevitably causes you to see it differently. So, the next time you doubt yourself, remember that you’re in the eye of the hurricane. You’re probably not seeing it the same way your audience will. George Lucas didn’t, and that guy made fucking Star Wars.