- I made an appearance on the NBC 5 Saturday morning news last weekend to promote the Bite-Size Arts Ensemble. It was way too early in the morning and I think I was still a little dreamy, but check it out nonetheless:
Bite-Size Arts Ensemble on NBC 5
- I wrote a little guide on how to create a badge for your blog, which you can find over at the Entrepreneur the Arts Blog. You don’t need to know how to design or code or anything like that. Real, real simple. Check it out.
When I was in high school, I pretty much saw every film that ever came out. Now while you might think that points to me being a reclusive shut-in (or shut-out, because I guess I was at least sitting in a movie theatre and not my own home), but I have an excuse. See, I was a teen movie critic, which is as oxymoronic a phrase as has ever existed. I wrote for the Kansas City Star‘s now-defunct TeenStar section, which was a great weekly outlet for teen writer’s in the KC metro area to have their work seen by thousands and thousands of readers. While most of the staff focused on actual journalistic pieces, my interests were a bit more shallow…BUT, by focusing on movie reviews over everything else, I managed to get into the paper almost every week. Thanks, Hollywood!
I’ve discussed in the past the idea of your worst ideas actually being your best…but I hear a lot of reluctance towards pursuing an idea that isn’t your absolute favorite. After all, you throw yourself into your work with all the passion and fervor of a crazy person, and it eats up weeks or months of your life, depending on what exactly it is that you’re trying to write. So why bother investing yourself in something that you don’t even think is good?
If you don’t like your idea, that’s not an excuse to dismiss it. An idea you don’t like is a challenge. Because here’s the reality of what happened:
An innocent tree died so that you could have the pencil wood to write that stupid thing down! You deserve to honor it! This is where the whole “love” thing comes in. Writing isn’t dating. When you’re dating someone, and you aren’t really enjoying it, it’s probably a good idea to get the hell out of there. You can’t change your lover, and it’ll only hurt to try. Ladies, you’re with me on this one.
You can change your idea. Writing isn’t a “love at first sight” process. You don’t have to start off in love with your shitty idea. In time, you can learn to love it. All you have to do is push past that initial rejection and start to question what it is about it that you don’t like. Is it not grounded enough? Is it about something that doesn’t interest you, or that you don’t know much about? These are fixable problems. You know the old “it’s not you, it’s me” excuse? Take it to heart. It’s not your ideas fault, it’s your own. You came up with it, you can make it work.
Creativity is as much about the experience of creation as it is the experiences that come from the final product. Whatever it is that you don’t like about an idea, use it as a catalyst to learn something new or have a new experience. And if you absolutely can’t get something down on paper, even after giving it the fairest shot in the world, then so be it. But before you push all your “little ideas” aside, remember that you already wrote something and that’s a hell of a lot further than we get on most of our ideas. It would be a shame for it to go to waste.
I'm a comedy writer, performer and creator based in Chicago, IL. I create websites, do experiments and generally have experiences that I use to make things with. Also, I love you very much. That's not a lie, I legitimately love you. If you asked me in person, I'd say the same thing, because I'm committed to the love that I feel. I dare you to challenge me.
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