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- Real Advice HurtsYesterday
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In the wonderful Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott talks about the incredible, ripping pain she felt after having her tonsils removed. All she wanted to do was chug pain killers and let the stupid thing heal, but, Anne’s doctor gave her some advice that she found as unbelievable as it was painful: he told her to chew some gum.
Turns out that, as with a lot of injuries, the entirely sensible impulse to protect and baby a wounded area was the opposite of what Anne actually needed in order to fix the problem. So, by enduring the excruciating pain of chewing gum for just a few minutes, the muscles in her throat suddenly unclenched, and Anne’s pain went away forever.
The advice Anne wanted wasn’t the advice she needed. And, like we all eventually learn, the best advice you’ll get in life hurts like hell at the time. Because it has to.
And, maybe that’s part of what what bugs me about all the “tips.”
Today, the web is littered with sites pumping out a high volume of advice on every conceivable topic. And a lot of the pathological patrons of these sites will tell you that a daily surfeit of snack-sized information helps them with what they really need in order to be successful and happy in life — to be b
- Photography, and the Tolerance for Courageous SuckingDecember 1
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As I’ve started shooting photos more often, I’ve picked up on some interesting patterns: habits, if you like. And, as I struggle to absorb the insane physics of capturing light with some glass and a black box, I accept upfront that the improvements to my actual photos will be slow, incremental, and, largely undetectable to anybody but me — a fact that’s never more painfully clear than when I swoon over the work of the more talented friends who inspire me (Heather, Ryan and Chris each come to mind here).
But, being instantly great at this couldn’t be further from the point. Although I started taking photos to become a better photographer, I keep taking them because I’ve learned to love the process. And, luckily, at least as far as I can tell, dedication to the process can’t help but make you a better photographer — or a better whatever, for that matter.
An Urge to Push
I lug this clunky camera around with me every day because I want to, and because turning this hobby into a project that I work on a little bit eve
- Sample Chapter from "The Creative Habit"December 1
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The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life (Free 1st Chapter)
As long as I’ve outed myself as an obsessive fan of Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, it seems sensible to point you to this free excerpt of the book, which includes the full text of the book’s first chapter.
While it doesn’t capture the clear-eyed usefulness of the book nearly as satisfyingly as each subsequent chapter does, it will give you a feel for why this book’s different from your garden-variety aspirational artist porn — this woman does not believe in “natural genius,” and she damned well expects you to work your ass off, every day:
After so many years, I’ve learned that being creative is a full-time job with its own daily patterns. That’s why writers, for example, like to establish routines for themselves. The most productive ones get started early in the morning, when the world is quiet, the phones aren’t ringing, and their minds are rested, alert, and not yet polluted by other people’s words. They might set a goal for themselves — write fifteen hundred words, or stay at their desk until noon — but the real se
- Louis C.K. on Starting Over; Carlin's Artful ProcessNovember 26
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ILIS Interviews Louis C.K. - AST Forums
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In 2006, Louis C.K. didn’t know whether his HBO show would be renewed, but he didn’t want to sit on his hands for months waiting to find out. Instead of going conservative by gluing new treads onto old tires, he did something tantamount to suicide for a working comic; he threw out his whole set and started over.
I decided that I would spend the year dedicating my time to building a brand new hour from the ground up. I figured that if it was ready by September, then if I got another season of Lucky Louie, (I didn’t) I could shoot that hour and then go back to work. I also figured that if we got cancelled (we did) I would really need something else ready so that I wouldn’t die of depression and poverty.
So I hit the clubs hard, recorded every set I did, and started building the time. It was REALLY hard. I didn’t know that it was possible for me. Then I listened to a CD called “George on George” where he talked about his work ethic and how, rather than just compiling material in general and shooting the best of what he has at the end of the year, he spent the year developing material specifically for the special. In other words, thinking of it as writing one special, like a novel. If you write a novel, it has a form, a theme, a story, whatever, and you know you’re writing that novel the whole time, and when it’s ready you publish it and move on. Rather than just writing “things” and then when there’s enough of it you put it out.
This approach totally changed how I thought about my task….
Louis C.K.’s latest special on Showtime was a riot, but he’s probably best known right now for killing on his recent Conan appearance.
Thanks a million for the interview link, Jesse Thorn (BTW, Jesse himself interviewed Louis C.K. in September for TSOYA).
Although I haven’t been able to put my hand to a copy of George On George, I do recommend checking out the 2007 oral history George Carlin did with the Archive of American Television. Man was crazy-smart and thoughtful about what he did and how he did it.
George Carlin - Archive Interview Part 6 of 7
I’m a writer first. […] An artist is on a journey…
So good. Don’t miss this.
- Twyla Tharp, on Failing WellNovember 26
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YouTube - Twyla Tharp on the Subject of Motivation and Creativity