Young Playwright: “I just feel like everything I write is crap.” Old Playwright: “It probably is. You’re still too young to write great dialogue.” YP: “So, what am I supposed to do?” OP: “Keep writing.” YP: “But you just agreed that it’s probably crap.” OP: “Yes, but it is out of the manure that the … Read More
Sometimes a good idea is the worst idea.
Part of the hard work of being a good artist is learning when to put something down.
I don’t think you and I create because one of us is eventually going to make the piece that satiates the primal, human hunger all other art pieces had previously failed to satiate; Or because one of us is going to write the song that renders all other songwriting unnecessary for the remainder of history. … Read More
I think great art can be (and often is) both beautiful and purposeful.
I’ve got a rough history with customer service. Better said, customer service has a rough history with me. I’ve been unkind. I’ve treated people like poorly. Basically, I treated them like they were part of the machinery that I need to serve me. That’s bad business. That’s also bad art. So, heres what I know … Read More
Not primarily. I think your primary calling is to love the world and those to whom you’re given. Art may be the way you go about doing that. But that may also change. Here’s why I think this is important to grasp: I’ve seen wonderful, gifted women and men run out of steam in one … Read More
This is a true story: Boyfriend rolls through a stop sign. His girlfriend, in the passenger seat, says “Hey! you just ran that stop!” He tells her that, after 5pm, stop signs with white borders should be treated like “Yield” signs. She’d never heard that before. “Oh, yeah,” he tells her, “I learned it from a cop buddy of mine.” A … Read More
This is a liberating book and a joy to read. Kleon clearly loves his work. His interest and curiosity carry the book. At the heart of “Steal Like An Artist” is the idea that “We learn by copying.” Kleon writes, “Even The Beatles started as a cover band. Paul McCartney has said, ‘I emulated Buddy Holly, … Read More
When Frank Tate signed me to a record deal with Five Minute Walk, way back in 1998, he was abundantly clear it wasn’t because I was the best, most marketable artist he’d ever met. In fact, what he said was “The songs are pretty bad, actually. But I believe in you and I think that … Read More
