I came upon this quote from This American Life's Ira Glass on a blog I've been frequenting - in sweet delight - so I don't know anything of the context for it, but what does it matter? As so many of us go back to school (i.e. to work, to our projects, to our ongoing struggle), I can't think of a better piece of advice that can serve as prod and inspiration. Here's the quote, unadorned:
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 if you are still in this phase, you gotta know it's 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 fashion 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.
What a terrific quote. It's something that all writers need to keep in mind, and something that I'm frankly struggling with.
Posted by: Walter Biggins | September 07, 2011 at 06:34 AM
Thanks for this one!
Posted by: Connie Josefs | September 07, 2011 at 07:07 AM
Walter, Great to hear from you - and glad this resonated.
Connie: You're welcome!
Posted by: mernitman | September 07, 2011 at 08:41 AM
Love this!
Posted by: Jan Stanton | September 07, 2011 at 08:45 AM
Yes, yes. This is such a great quote. Probably something I should keep over my computer for whenever I stare at a blinking curser in despair.
Posted by: JustMe | September 07, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Thanks for sharing that. I think I'm going to post that over my desk and take it to heart.
Posted by: Pat | September 11, 2011 at 02:25 PM
Reading this quote gives me a lot of confidence.
I can tell you that it's from Ira Glass on Storytelling a set of four videos that you can find on YouTube. The whole thing is great and very quotable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loxJ3FtCJJA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Posted by: Brigitta | September 14, 2011 at 05:13 AM
Jan: I'm glad.
JustMe: Yes, add it to your "Don't Despair" file.
Pat: Cool.
Brigitta: Thank you so much for the link! I'm going to dive into this, ASAP.
Posted by: mernitman | September 15, 2011 at 12:28 PM
Boy did I need this. Thank you!
Posted by: Shane | September 17, 2011 at 11:41 AM
Great quote. Thank you for sharing it.
Posted by: dvlokken | September 17, 2011 at 11:52 PM
“A writer — and, I believe, generally all persons — must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.” —Jorge Luis Borges, writer (1899-1986)
Posted by: Rob in L.A. | September 18, 2011 at 10:21 AM
Shane: You're welcome - glad you found your way to it.
Dvlokken: It is, evidently, The Bomb.
Rob: I've always said that writing well is the best revenge.
Posted by: mernitman | September 18, 2011 at 02:33 PM