Category: Creator Confidential
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It’s easier to make art, harder to make a living off it
“It’s easier than ever to make music, and harder than ever to make a living from it,” Luc Rinaldi writes. This statement applies well to writing. Perhaps it’s a matter of expectation: too many people expect to make a living from art. Maybe it’s because we are exposed to a lot of artists who have…
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The bad joke phenomenon
When you get promoted, other people will laugh harder at your jokes and seem to excuse your tardiness. The feedback signals that had previously guided your behavior will seem distorted because you’ve gained power and status. Daniel Shapero calls this the “bad joke” phenomenon (via Rohan Rajiv), and he suggests three ways to accommodate this:…
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When a detour is the best route
You are on a road trip. The fastest path to your destination has no fuel stations, and your car is running low. An alternate path has several fuel stations, and it requires a detour—taking you an extra hour or two. Which path will you take? Sometimes, it’s most useful to go directly towards your goal.…
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Perpetual beginner
This month, Grant Snider is writing one Haiku and making a drawing with it every day. He posts them at his website. At his Substack, he dives into the creative process, and shares the stories behind the scenes. “Maybe when it comes to art, I’m not a master. I’m a perpetual beginner,” he writes. This…
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More ways to write every day
Some more openings (as in chess) for how I write every day: 1. When I find an interesting idea, I write it down in a sentence or two. Usually this takes place in the Notes app on my phone. If I’m near my laptop, I’ll write it in Airtable. This is the most reliable opening…
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An advantage and disadvantage to publishing at a blog
If you publish your work at a blog, very few people are going to read it. There is an advantage to this: your source of feedback is more introspective. Posting your work at a blog trains you to focus on your own responses to your work. You learn to focus on the process, not the…
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Philip Glass’s composing practice
Philip Glass’s memoir, Words Without Music, has been very energizing to read. One of the more interesting passages describes how he developed more rigorous work habits to accommodate his learning at Juilliard. In order to better focus on composing music, Philip set a goal to sit at a piano at home for three hours. He…