5 ms·
This is a nicely succinct expression of what I intuit to be almost a universal rule of creating/designing/making. It’s related to what I think of as “coherency
by b1daly 9y ago
This is a nicely succinct expression of what I intuit to be almost a universal rule of creating/designing/making.
It’s related to what I think of as “coherency” and I’m often surprised at how long it can take.
The most recent example is that I was writing up some technical feedback for a reviewer of a product I develop.
My first draft was several pages worth of dense prose. I realized I needed to simplify, otherwise it would overwhelm the reader. I worked on it for several hours, and in the end I had it down to about 4-5 paragraphs.
So it took me five hours to write what looks like a simple, straightforward email!
I’m a music producer by trade, and the principal is very much at work. To create a successful recording requires getting into the small details of the sounds, and working with them, whether your tools are complex or simple.
- SomewhatLikely 9y ago"I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." - Blaise Pascal
- magwa101 9y agoTimely! I'm on "hiatus" and producing music again after a 10 year break. It's been months of learning. With the new tools I can go so much deeper, so I am. If you want repeatable processes you have to focus on tools and organization. I've integrated github, google docs, Reaper, and bunches of VSTs and I'm just barely starting to see a good organizational approach. This is 1 year later!
- slfnflctd 9y agoI would love to see a more in-depth description of this process you've gone through, in a blog or reddit post or discussion thread somewhere. Like many others, I've been playing with digital recording tools off & on since the 90s as a total amateur (wanted to be in a 'cool band' since middle school, still do), and while I know there are a thousand great guides out there, I always seem to find them overwhelming/paralyzing. Admittedly, I probably don't travel in the right circles for it, but the github and google docs aspects in particular sound like something I haven't read as much about musically inclined people doing before.
- Veen 9y agoAs someone who earns their living writing articles and web copy for brands, this frustrates me no end. I'm often asked why I charge so much more for web copy than a blog article, when a blog article is often 1000 words plus and web copy might be 200 words or fewer (sometimes just a couple of sentences with a strapline). The answer is that I can write a competent blog article about as fast as I can type. Decent web copy that boils down the essential benefits and features of a product and expresses them concisely and compellingly takes much much longer to get right.