Hey, it works for us. Especially if we sign a name like, oh, Joss Whedon’s to it and then post on Facebook…nah, that’s not the kind of comfort the following article is about. (But maybe it should be?)
I define non-clinical anxiety as, “experiencing failure in advance.” If you’re busy enacting a future that hasn’t happened yet, and amplifying the worst possible outcomes, it’s no wonder it’s difficult to ship that work.
The late Jack Kirby was arguably the most influential creative force on the planet today. The look and feeling of all comic books comes from his work as artist, storyteller, and, most importantly, as conceptualist.
And since comic books are the basis for 90% of today’s films, either directly (comic book adaptations or indirectly (just about any and every 21st Century action film blockbuster), Kirby’s action-packed perspective is, literally, everywhere.
Which is why we at TVWriter™ were so delighted to find the following interview about Kirby’s life, attitudes, and work ethic over at TCJ.Com. (The Comics Journal.) As far as we’re concerned, this should be required reading for every “creative:
How did the geniuses of old write? Like this (or so they claimed):
How many people die with their best work still inside them?
Noted novelist and self-publishing pioneer Cary Doctorow wrote this article on how to get your writing self to actually do your writing work back in 2009, but his wisdom is more apt than ever:
by Cory Doctorow
We know that our readers are distracted and sometimes even overwhelmed by the myriad distractions that lie one click away on the Internet, but of course writers face the same glorious problem: the delirious world of information and communication and community that lurks behind your screen, one alt-tab away from your word-processor.
The single worst piece of writing advice I ever got was to stay away from the Internet because it would only waste my time and wouldn’t help my writing. This advice was wrong creatively, professionally, artistically, and personally, but I know where the writer who doled it out was coming from. Every now and again, when I see a new website, game, or service, I sense the tug of an attention black hole: a time-sink that is just waiting to fill my every discretionary moment with distraction. As a co-parenting new father who writes at least a book per year, half-a-dozen columns a month, ten or more blog posts a day, plus assorted novellas and stories and speeches, I know just how short time can be and how dangerous distraction is.
Don’t just stand there like a wimp. Get mad, dammit! For creativity’s sake!
Hall of Fame basketball player Michael Jordan is famous for his world-class talent, but what set him apart from his peers was that MJ knew how to get angry. And Michael Jordan was always angry.