Thank you, Laini, for posting this video of Ira Glass from This American Life. I needed to see it!
P.S. He aims his advice at those just starting out in a creative field, but truly, this is a comfort to anyone, master or apprentice, who struggles to make something out of nothing.
I watched that and found it very good advice, too, and then I went to Laini's blog (about 3/4 of the way through) and figured out who it was! Neat. It's always hard to imagine how these radio folks look; rather, they never look like you expect them to.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a novelist, but I think this applies to blogging, too. If one is at all interested in getting better at posting (your style of writing, say, or whatever you think is lacking in your writing at your blog), then this advice applies. Can we call it the Necessary Crap Phase?
And there are times I don't want to do a post. I mean, I might have loved what I'm posting about (or I wouldn't bother writing about it), but I'm not in the mood to complete -- or even start -- the post, maybe even because I feel daunted to describe the great book I read or whatever. But I set that challenge and those deadlines (for lack of a better word) for myself, like he's talking about. It's just good discipline that I need. Great advice.
He says it much more eloquently!
Thanks for linking to this. Thanks to you and Laini.
Yes, Jules, I'd definitely include blogging as a creative endeavor that involves making something out of nothing---and one that requires boatloads of practice if you want to get better at it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I added some info before the video, identifying Ira Glass from This American Life. I didn't mean to be mysterious about it. I was just so eager to share that I threw it up there without a thought for an introduction.
No problem. It was fun to try to figure out whose voice that was. I knew I had heard it before. (Plus it's always fun to visit Laini's blog.)
ReplyDeleteYou'll be fierce. You'll be a warrior.
ReplyDeleteMan, some days it really feels like that, doesn't it?
Oh, I just watched some of the other clips, too. Don't miss them!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote: "Not enough gets said about the importance of abandoning crap."
Wait. What other clips?
ReplyDeleteHi Sara! Glad you enjoyed. It really struck a chord with me. I love Ira, and as Jules said, it's weird seeing that very familiar voice actually coming out of somebody's face!
ReplyDeleteHey, Laini! Thank YOU.
ReplyDeleteLiz, it sounds like he's cut off in this video at the end, so I looked around. There are parts 1, 2, 3, and 4, I believe. "Ira Glass on Storytelling" They show up as still frames at the bottom of the video window when you finish watching it (or if you click on the arrow on the bottom right to change the view mode.) Or you could just search on YouTube.