Tip of the Hat to Ira Glass

Some comments by Ira Glass about the creative process were brought to my attention this week.

His thesis was essentially that artistic people take up a creative project because they have good taste, because they have an appreciation for the skill of the great creators. This leads to a dilemma. The burgeoning creator knows how to distinguish good art from bad art and those initial attempts at any form of creative endeavor are inevitably bad. Years of bad work are required before the good work finally begins to develop.

Musicians see this more clearly than most because there is a physical component as well as an intellectual component. If the fingers do not land on the balance beam of the key or string we hear the mistake in an instant. Only practice can train us to make beautiful music.

And, yes, this is forgotten as one grows older and tries a new type of creative project. To paint or write or tell a story will take hours, weeks, months or years of work. The work must be done. That is the only way.

But the rewards of work will appear over time. Slowly, word by word, sentence by sentence we learn to make sense of our thoughts. Sometimes the words seem to skip onto the page with barely a moment of hesitation. Day by day each sentence becomes a little easier. The seeping spring drains into the creek, then forms the river.

As Ira Glass says, we’re going to be good because we have the sense to know when we are bad.

And, by the way, how do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice, practice, practice.

Amy