I find it hard to develop a shared language about how difficult it is to develop and launch creative projects. I’ve called it “soul-selling”, which is NOT selling your soul, but that’s what everyone equated it to, so I stopped saying it. I’ve called it heart selling, emotional selling, and a whole lot of other things that fell on stone-faced creative people over the years, mostly because when you combine the word sell with creative work, half the people (and nearly all the people who need to hear it) prickle up.
What you said about constraints hit perfectly for me, as a creator. It's something I've been trying to articulate for a while and you just did it in a big, encouraging way:
Don't tell me to think outside the box. I don't know what I'm doing outside the box. Give me a box -- the littler and the tighter the better -- and then I'll show you how the inside is bigger than the outside.
The best part of having a box is making the rules of the box. Take the box that life gives you and then make a smaller box that fits in it where you make up the rules. That's what writing is for me.
Thanks for sharing this perspective and the parallels with music and the story of Casablanca. Good stuff.
I hadn't read this Kurt Vonnegut quotation before:
The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake.
I wasn't nearly as annoyed by Rubin as you. 😉 The thing that sticks with me from his interview is that he subtracts first, where other producers add first. He says things like "I don't know what makes a hit" but then describes what makes a hit.
He's been so successful in multiple genres that I believe his claim that he helps artists be better versions of themselves. That POV definitely translates to other mediums, and encourages me. I've experienced versions of that--subtracting to figure out why my work is resonating with an audience.
I will also freely admit Rick Rubin's voice is a siren to me, and I can't not listen. He and Neil Gaiman keep me in a trance, no matter what they're talking about!
That’s fair. I am with you on gaiman. I have tried listening to rubins podcast a half dozen times and it always rubs me the wrong way. Have you listened to I only listen to the mountain goats?
Maybe you should give it a try. I don’t like it, and I love music and philosophy podcasts, and I love Pushkin generally. They make some of my favorite shows.
What you said about constraints hit perfectly for me, as a creator. It's something I've been trying to articulate for a while and you just did it in a big, encouraging way:
Don't tell me to think outside the box. I don't know what I'm doing outside the box. Give me a box -- the littler and the tighter the better -- and then I'll show you how the inside is bigger than the outside.
100%. I love a good box.
The best part of having a box is making the rules of the box. Take the box that life gives you and then make a smaller box that fits in it where you make up the rules. That's what writing is for me.
Thanks for sharing this perspective and the parallels with music and the story of Casablanca. Good stuff.
I hadn't read this Kurt Vonnegut quotation before:
The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake.
It's one of my favorites. Vonnegut is my wife's favorite author.
You’re the first person I’ve seen explain how to bring people into your work if you’re ahead of the curve.
1. Pay the influencers (DJ’s)
2. Give them a door they like (fairy tales)
3. Market yourself as niche (Kickstarter)
Thank you. This and the chronic illness article, especially, have given me lots to chew on.
You're welcome, and you're spot on.
I wasn't nearly as annoyed by Rubin as you. 😉 The thing that sticks with me from his interview is that he subtracts first, where other producers add first. He says things like "I don't know what makes a hit" but then describes what makes a hit.
He's been so successful in multiple genres that I believe his claim that he helps artists be better versions of themselves. That POV definitely translates to other mediums, and encourages me. I've experienced versions of that--subtracting to figure out why my work is resonating with an audience.
that is an interesting point.
I will also freely admit Rick Rubin's voice is a siren to me, and I can't not listen. He and Neil Gaiman keep me in a trance, no matter what they're talking about!
That’s fair. I am with you on gaiman. I have tried listening to rubins podcast a half dozen times and it always rubs me the wrong way. Have you listened to I only listen to the mountain goats?
No, I haven't. But good point, I haven't listened to Rubin's, I meant listening to him tell stories as he's being interviewed by others.
Maybe you should give it a try. I don’t like it, and I love music and philosophy podcasts, and I love Pushkin generally. They make some of my favorite shows.