Two months into the blog and I am feeling the need to post every day. Not because I have lots to say, but because the opposite is true.
Coming up with something to share is a constant struggle for bloggers. Something I need to tackle head-on.
Today Austin Kleon came up with the post. Put it on the refrigerator. He is referring to a quote from a 2002 Jeff Tweedy interview. The full quote is here:
“To say I’ve never been inhibited by expectations would be a lie. It’s more daunting to contend with yourself. It’s like saying I don’t even need to write songs because the greatest songwriter in the world has already done this–Bob Dylan. But he’s dealing with himself, too. The internal stuff is the stuff that kills you. I want to write the greatest song in the world sometimes. I don’t think there’s anything wrong in wanting to do that, but I think you’re better off when you realize you have no control over it. You just gotta keep making s–t up, scribbling–like sitting down and drawing with my kids. It reminds me to do that in my songs. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad.”
It is every artist’s responsibility to keep making the s–t up. And to do that every day. That is the only way to get better. That is the only way to find some nuggets in your work.
An artist’s other responsibility is to put their work out there. Worrying for your best work, and waiting till you get better won’t make you better. Putting your work out there, however amateurish, most certainly will.
I am setting this challenge for myself now, to start daily blogging, fully aware of the fact that there will be days when I cannot post anything, particularly when I will be traveling.
But I will tackle those days when I get there.