4 ms·

This reminds me of a quote by Ira Glass that's been the most inspiring advice I've read as a writer: >“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish so

This reminds me of a quote by Ira Glass that's been the most inspiring advice I've read as a writer: >“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” (the audio is also nice because, well, it's Ira) https://vimeo.com/24715531 https://vimeo.com/24715531

benbreen 9y ago
I love this quote too. Especially because it really is true in Glass's case. Sometimes when I listen to TAL episodes from the first couple years (1995-96) I'm amazed at how far he's come, not just in storytelling ability but really basic things like how to speak on the radio. And even those episodes took place after he had been doing radio professionally for about 15 years!
- ggg9990 9y ago
  I actually think TAL is at the worst that it’s ever been. Although it’s certainly been better than it was in ‘96!
spondyl 9y ago
I think about what he says on taste quite a bit. Similarly, artists will create a piece of art, for example, and look back as it as being rubbish. If I'm someone who sees that piece of art and I really like it, perhaps that just means that my taste is at a similar place to that artists at the point that they made the piece. Some artists will often think their previous works are subpar, the same goes for writing and so on, but it's worth considering that those admiring it have tastes both more and less developed than your own so you can't possibly say "no one would think this is good". I'm not sure if that made as much as sense as it does in my head. I guess the programming analogy is wanting to delete old blog posts about basic starter issues. They seem obvious in hindsight but, presuming they're timeless issues, someone else may find it useful.
hailk 9y ago
This advice should be stapled on the bedroom wall for anyone who sets out on any creative pursuit. Zen Pencils did a really nice comic on this. https://zenpencils.com/comic/90-ira-glass-advice-for-beginners/ https://zenpencils.com/comic/90-ira-glass-advice-for-beginne...
- mr_overalls 9y ago
  Funny you should mention this - I feel the same way! https://imgur.com/WuB4qY0 https://imgur.com/WuB4qY0

benbreen 9y ago

I love this quote too. Especially because it really is true in Glass's case. Sometimes when I listen to TAL episodes from the first couple years (1995-96) I'm amazed at how far he's come, not just in storytelling ability but really basic things like how to speak on the radio. And even those episodes took place after he had been doing radio professionally for about 15 years!

ggg9990 9y ago
I actually think TAL is at the worst that it’s ever been. Although it’s certainly been better than it was in ‘96!

spondyl 9y ago

I think about what he says on taste quite a bit. Similarly, artists will create a piece of art, for example, and look back as it as being rubbish. If I'm someone who sees that piece of art and I really like it, perhaps that just means that my taste is at a similar place to that artists at the point that they made the piece. Some artists will often think their previous works are subpar, the same goes for writing and so on, but it's worth considering that those admiring it have tastes both more and less developed than your own so you can't possibly say "no one would think this is good". I'm not sure if that made as much as sense as it does in my head. I guess the programming analogy is wanting to delete old blog posts about basic starter issues. They seem obvious in hindsight but, presuming they're timeless issues, someone else may find it useful.

hailk 9y ago

This advice should be stapled on the bedroom wall for anyone who sets out on any creative pursuit. Zen Pencils did a really nice comic on this. https://zenpencils.com/comic/90-ira-glass-advice-for-beginners/ https://zenpencils.com/comic/90-ira-glass-advice-for-beginne...

mr_overalls 9y ago
Funny you should mention this - I feel the same way! https://imgur.com/WuB4qY0 https://imgur.com/WuB4qY0