Monday, November 7, 2011

Motivational Monday


DON'T WORRY ABOUT FAILURE; 
WORRY ABOUT STALLING.
YOUR ART GETS BETTER AS YOU GO. 
JUST DON'T EVER USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO SETTLE.
(Jeff Goins)

I can stall with the best of them. Wait, wait, wait -  while the stars align, while I clean the house, while I make up the grocery list, while I put the laundry on. Let me just straighten my office, organize my files, make sure I have the right notebooks and colored index cards and pens. I just have to make sure the idea and the characters and the plot are all clear and sharp and perfect before I write it all down.  

It's often the stalling that stifles the art.

This week, let's not wait. Write down that great line of dialogue - even if it's on a dirty napkin. Take that photo - even if the light isn't perfect. Sketch out the image in your head - even if you can't really draw. Keep going, keep pushing, keep creating. Don't. Wait. 

4 comments:

  1. "YOUR ART GETS BETTER AS YOU GO" -- I sure hope so. Dirty napkins, look out!

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  2. Believe me, Milo, I hope so, too! :)

    For me, it's not so much dirty napkins as post-its and scraps of paper. I jot down notes in the blank spaces on those subscription cards that fall out of magazines.

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  3. I love this advice! I feel like you are talking right to me. I'm a master staller :)

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  4. Ha! Thanks for reading, Angela. :)

    Sometimes though I feel like the stalling happens just before a breakthrough...

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