It's no secret I've been in a blog slump lately. Whenever I think about writing and photographing a new post, I'm discouraged by thoughts such as, That's a vain thing to blog, That's not an original enough idea or recipe, and You don't have the talent or expertise to style and photograph that. Another factor is time; I'm challenged to find and devote the hours required to conceive, cook, style, light, photograph and process (let alone write) a story. Plus sometimes blogging seems so... self-involved. Which is odd considering how much I enjoy and learn from other blogs.
When I really think about it, something else is behind my slump, something for which I didn't have words until I came across a quote today from my beloved Ira Glass, Tweeted by Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen, via Terilyn Fisher's Fish Food blog. (Huh? Also, what was I just saying about others' blogs? Exactly.)
So, without further ado, I re-blog these encouraging words from my favorite hipster nerd crush, courtesy of some people who aren't in a slump like me.
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.
Ira's words are spot on and I am taking them to heart. It's only through practice that we -- that I -- will achieve growth and maybe, eventually, mastery.
Oh, and if you look to your right, at the list of blogs I follow, you'll get a glimpse of my killer taste and why my work disappoints me to the point of paralysis. But I'm gonna fight my way through... yes, I am.
So, without further ado, I re-blog these encouraging words from my favorite hipster nerd crush, courtesy of some people who aren't in a slump like me.
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.
- Ira Glass
Ira's words are spot on and I am taking them to heart. It's only through practice that we -- that I -- will achieve growth and maybe, eventually, mastery.
Oh, and if you look to your right, at the list of blogs I follow, you'll get a glimpse of my killer taste and why my work disappoints me to the point of paralysis. But I'm gonna fight my way through... yes, I am.
