creating isn't easy

"People have strong feelings about others pursuing their dreams. It's often a product of their own hopes, fears, and choices. You may have friends contact you from nowhere to encourage you. Others will question your talents, motives, and very worth as a writer."

— Lauren Kosa

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, writing, KEEP CREATING, feedback/criticism/rejection, Lauren Kosa

"The short story isn’t a tree, it’s a forest, maybe a jungle, and that isn’t sufficiently recognized."

— Marcel Theroux

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, short stories, writing, value the art, Marcel Theroux

"Getting a story published is almost as hard and merely a fraction as lucrative [as a novel] (if it pays anything at all), so pursue short stories only if you actually enjoy writing them."

— Thomas Mullen

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, short stories, novel writing, the successful artist, writing, publishing, Thomas Mullen

"We all get rejected and criticized at every stage.  Feel the hurt and let it go."

— Debra Monroe

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, feedback/criticism/rejection, the creative life, Debra Monroe

"Writing a novel is like building a model of the Eiffel Tower out of Popsicle sticks and Elmer's glue—it's a complex mechanical process and a real feat of engineering, but when we get right down to it, it's kind of artificial." (artist)

— Campbell McGrath (photo by Melanie Viola)

for Creatives  |  creative process, photography, creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, French, German, architecture, Campbell McGrath

"If you do want to get into creative work, you’re going to have to see it as a side hustle. Not your main gig. That’s just the way it is.  It could become your main gig — if you’re very, very lucky — but the chances are slim. It’s hard to make it work."

— Jon Westenberg

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, the successful artist, the creative life, design your life, your passion vs. the day job, Jon Westenberg

Follow Your Curiosity

"What people SHOULD preface their rule-dispensing [for creative pursuits] with is something like this: 'Hey, this is the way it worked for me.  Maybe it'll work for you too?  And if not, no worries.  We're still pals.'"

— Ryan G. Van Cleave

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, the successful artist, reaching your audience, feedback/criticism/rejection, artist's message, artists supporting artists, Ryan G. Van Cleave, artists vs. artists/competition among creatives

"It's all about using everything and spinning it into something creative.  Instead of kicking against the pricks, you readjust your trajectory and go with the current.  Instead of pushing back against people you feel are attacking you, you use your opponent's momentum to disable them, much as you would in ju-jitsu."

— Steve Coogan

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, creative fear, Steve Coogan, feedback/criticism/rejection

"A permission slip [to write]: you can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will." (artist)

— Stephen King (artwork by David Sipress)

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, writing, Stephen King, cartoon, drawing/illustration, David Sipress

"Writing is never a perfect art, but you can perfect the work that you put into it."

— Virgil Suárez

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, art, writing, KEEP CREATING, Virgil Suárez

"My best advice on how to form this habit [of writing every day] is twofold: Get comfortable staring at a blank screen and not writing. This is a skill. If you can not write and avoid filling that time with distractions, you'll get to the point where you start writing. Open your manuscript and just be with it. Secondly, learn to write rough. Stop caring about spelling and sentence fragments and plot holes and grammar. Get the story down. Listen to the dialog and try to keep up with your fingers. Get to the end of your manuscript and THEN worry about the quality.  If you can master the art of powering through to the end of your story, you are on your way."

— Hugh Howey

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, KEEP CREATING, Hugh Howey

"'Work hard,' is not only the most important, but actually, essential. I believe that if you didn't have to work for something, it can't truly be considered success. Luck doesn't count. I think success is allowed a certain pride and you can’t be proud of luck or even of being born smart, artistic, or talented. It's what you do with it that counts."

— Ricky Gervais

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, the successful artist, KEEP CREATING, Ricky Gervais

"Writing is often balanced with dozens of other obligations. Like working, cooking, cleaning, exercising, and picking up the kids from school. Nobody has the time to dedicate an entire day to just this activity. ... There is a popular misconception that successful writers have more time than the average person. That the only reason they do well is because they can spend hours each day on their books. That they don’t have to worry about pesky chores and errands like everyone else."

— Steve Scott

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, the successful artist, writing, the creative life, design your life, Steve Scott

"Resist deep longing for approval.  One needs to write not what a public wants but what it needs.  The first kind of work is what your need for approval will generate; the second is what your struggle will bring forth."

— Junot Díaz

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, reaching your audience, writer-reader relationship, feedback/criticism/rejection, value the art, Junot Díaz, artist-audience relationship

"We were talking about Jack Nicholson, and that level of aspiration for the film [based on my novel].  What happened was a change in the hierarchy at Warner Brothers, and the people who had brought the project in no longer had power.  That was the first time that happened.  But it happened over and over.  You don't know what to believe, and you never know for sure why you're getting turned down, or even why they were interested in you in the first place."

— William Kennedy

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, filmmaking, feedback/criticism/rejection, value the art, film based on novel, screenwriting, William Kennedy, Jack Nicholson

"Even if you are a great poet, it doesn't mean the road is easy.  It's very hard and it might take a while to be recognized."

— Denise Duhamel

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, the successful artist, writing, poetry, reaching your audience, KEEP CREATING, Denise Duhamel

"The thing is, it's hard to do great creative work at the end of the day when you're tired and worn down by trying to make a living in a day job, in a business that you've founded to bring in income etc."

— Jon Westenberg

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, the creative life, your passion vs. the day job, Jon Westenberg

Follow Your Curiosity

"You have to do it better or different that it's been done before, otherwise there's no point doing it.  But that challenge is what makes writing a book ... so much fun."

— Stewart O'Nan

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, value the art, Stewart O'Nan

"The stupid conclusion that if he cannot write easily he has mistaken his career is sheer nonsense."

— Dorothea Brande

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, writing, writer's block, Dorothea Brande

"You can't lie to yourself if you're going to be a memoirist.  Our personal failures and limitations and weak or fragile spots are the most interesting things to read about.  Again, it comes back to telling the truth as opposed to the thing we wish were true or ought to be true or assume at first glance to be true.  I think a memoirist really has to be willing to—not necessarily comfortable with—revealing their deepest emotions, motivations, and actions on the page for anyone to view and judge."

— Augusten Burroughs

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, feedback/criticism/rejection, memoir, Augusten Burroughs

"When you're writing your first book, nobody really cares, except you.  It's totally self-motivated.  Writing [my second book] was the toughest thing I've ever done."

— Matthew Norman

for Creatives  |  your 1st book, creating isn't easy, creative fear, novel writing, writing, Matthew Norman

"Trying to fit the great thrust of creativity into assembly-line time is in itself bound to lead to conflicts, dissatisfactions, and frustrations."

— Jane Roberts

for Creatives  |  creative process, create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, creativity, the creative life, creative freedom, design your life, Jane Roberts

"Untalented writers may feel cheated and lied-to if they can't get published, if they don't have good lives as writers.  Which is why you have to tell everybody at the outset that no creative writing program can guarantee a career, or publications, or anything except for some close readings and guidance."

— Charles Baxter

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, publishing, never stop LEARNING, design your life, Charles Baxter, formal arts education

"Let me tell you, people spend a lot less on writing than they do on music. How does a writer live, on the money we're talking right now?"

— Jon Westenberg

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, the creative life, value the art, Jon Westenberg

Follow Your Curiosity

"I felt a bit better. Because if Neil Armstrong felt like an imposter, maybe everyone did. Maybe there weren't any grown-ups, only people who had worked hard and also got lucky and were slightly out of their depth, all of us doing the best job we could, which is all we can really hope for."

— Neil Gaiman

for Creatives  |  Neil Gaiman, create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, artist integrity, creative fear, the successful artist, Neil Armstrong

"Instruction in writing is oftenest aimed at the oblivious tradesman of fiction, and the troubles of the artist are dismissed or overlooked."

— Dorothea Brande

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, creative fear, artists, writing, creative block, formal arts education, Dorothea Brande

"How many people could tell you how much money they’ve given to their favourite artists or writers or creators? Not to platforms, not to businesses, to actual creatives?"

— Jon Westenberg

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, art, artists, protect the art, value the art, artists supporting artists, Jon Westenberg

Follow Your Curiosity

"Something Ben Stiller had said to me a few years earlier: 'When you're on a film set and you've got to make endless decisions, you have to realise that you can't be worried about people's feelings.'"

— Steve Coogan

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, Steve Coogan, filmmaking, feedback/criticism/rejection, value the art, Ben Stiller

"Your stories are your world; they're what help you do this thing that you love."

— Chuck Wendig

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, writing, KEEP CREATING, storytelling, Chuck Wendig

"Despite all of their desire to live by their own lone wolf ways, ironically what amateur writers really want is a recipe. And certainty. And guarantees."

— Shawn Coyne

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, KEEP CREATING, Shawn Coyne

"The traditional [book publishing] market can be impossible, it can be icy, it can be illogical and downright cruel.  I have seen it knock down oodles of talented writers."

— Nicki Porter

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, publishing, Nicki Porter

"[Unlike books devoted to writing,] books written for painters do not imply that the chances are that the reader can never be anything but a conceited dauber, nor do textbooks on engineering start out by warning the student that because he has been able to make a grasshopper out of two rubber bands and a matchstick he is not to think that he is likely ever to be an honor to his chosen profession."

— Dorothea Brande

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, feedback/criticism/rejection, painting, never stop LEARNING, Dorothea Brande

"Writing novels seems tailor-made for people suffering from bipolar disorder or for roller coaster designers."

— Ted Heller

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, Ted Heller

"Writing a long novel is like survival training. Physical strength is as necessary as artistic sensitivity."

— Steve Scott

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, Steve Scott

"Not only am I rarely creatively satisfied, but satisfaction comes with small victories.  There's usually more frustration than applause or happiness."

— Keith Ehrlich

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, KEEP CREATING, filmmaking, feedback/criticism/rejection, Keith Ehrlich

"Writing is like having a baby. If you wait until you can afford to spare the time, you'll never do it."

— David James Poissant

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, the creative life, David James Poissant

"There are also amazing highs; a fantastic piece of dialogue, a great idea, a shot that really works.  You have to hang on to those moments and learn to push the anxiety away."

— Steve Coogan

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, creative fear, Steve Coogan, filmmaking

"Sharon Olds said that if you write down something and put it out into the world, it's a little murder.  It just is.  If you write down something and you put it in a drawer, it's a little suicide."

— Denise Duhamel

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, reaching your audience, KEEP CREATING, feedback/criticism/rejection, Sharon Olds, TAKE RISKS, Denise Duhamel

"An idea I was exposed to in art school: it's adamant that you enjoy the process more than the end product.  And that rule applies to all the arts, because we're fickle people."

— Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, music, the creative life, Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine), formal arts education

"Open book after book devoted to the writer's problems: in nine cases out of ten you will find, well toward the front of the volume, some very gloomy paragraphs warning you that you may be no writer at all, that you probably lack taste, judgment, imagination, and every trace of the special abilities necessary to turn yourself from an aspirant into an artist, or even into a passable craftsman.  You are likely to hear that your desire to write is perhaps only an infantile exhibitionism, or to be warned that because your friends think you a great writer (as if they ever did!) the world cannot be expected to share that fond opinion.  And so on, most tiresomely.  The reasons for this pessimism about young writers are dark to me."

— Dorothea Brande

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, feedback/criticism/rejection, Dorothea Brande

"You're very fortunate if you have a partner who understands what you do and who works with you through the struggle of making and wanting to make."

— Keith Ehrlich

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artists, filmmaking, the creative life, artists supporting artists, Keith Ehrlich

"I'm constantly taking risks to move forward.  I believe that you have to go for what you want and figure the rest out later.  That's a good way of looking at the world: do what you feel is the best thing to move you forward, and don't let potential future pitfalls hold you back.  You can cross those bridges when you get there—everything will work itself out."

— Samantha Pleet

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, artist integrity, the creative life, design your life, Samantha Pleet, fashion design, TAKE RISKS

"It's easy to be fooled into thinking there's a magic program, a specific path that only others know about, or a unique but mysterious road that you should take with a set number of steps to reach your dreams.  Nonsense.  You decide when.  You decide how."

— Jordan Rosenfeld

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, the successful artist, the creative life, design your life, break the rules, Jordan Rosenfeld

"People don't want to pay for content. They want to consume it for free, or monetise it for themselves. There's never been a greater sense of people feeling entitled to your creative work than there is right now.  And in that entitlement, respect for creative work is vanishing."

— Jonathan Kellerman

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creativity, writer-reader relationship, the creative life, value the art, Jon Westenberg

Follow Your Curiosity

"You should always try your hardest. The Office was the first thing I really tried my hardest at. I don't know why I started this radical new approach then, but I think it was one of those carpe diem type revelations. I came into the industry with a slightly older head on my shoulders than most and maybe deep down knew I shouldn't blow the opportunity. I put everything into it. A lifetime of experiences, and I couldn't have been prouder of the results. I don't even mean the success of the show, but simply the finished product. I was the laziest man in the world before I made The Office but now I'm addicted to that sort of success. Pride in my work. Now I'm a workaholic, because I realize that the hard work is sort of a reward in itself."

— Ricky Gervais

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, TV series, British, comedy, the successful artist, writing, Ricky Gervais, artists must EXPERIENCE, comedy writing

Follow Your Curiosity

[The student writer] only vaguely knows that successful writers have overcome the difficulties which seem almost insuperable to him; he believes that accepted authors have some magic, or at the very lowest, some trade secret, which, if he is alert and attentive, he may surprise.  He suspects, further, that the teacher who offers his services knows that magic, and may drop a word about it which will prove an ['Open, Says Me'] to him.  In the hope of hearing it, or surprising it, he will sit doggedly through a series of instructions in story types and plot forming and technical problems which have no relation to his own dilemma.  He will buy or borrow every book with 'fiction' in the title; he will read any symposium by authors in which they tell their methods of work.  In almost every case, he will be disappointed.

— Dorothea Brande

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, magic/mystery of creating/art, the successful artist, writing, never stop LEARNING, formal arts education, Dorothea Brande

"Today's writer is expected to craft an online identity while churning out everything from literary snacks to full-course feasts that threaten to be labeled TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read).  It's an exhausting scenario and, to compensate, many writers resort to templates that allow them to ape what has come before."

— Joel Fishbane

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, reaching your audience, KEEP CREATING, Joel Fishbane

"Every painting I've produced falls short of my expectations.  They are my children, but they're all juvenile delinquents.  I'm not proud of them."

— Kinukoy Yamabe Craft

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, creative fear, KEEP CREATING, painting, Kinukoy Yamabe Craft

"Be a cocky little nobody. But work hard, be original and write about what you know."

— Ricky Gervais

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, artist integrity, the successful artist, writing, KEEP CREATING, Ricky Gervais, comedy writing

"The act of writing a book-length manuscript is its own education, regardless of whether the manuscript is ultimately published."

— Laura Maylene Walter

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, publishing, never stop LEARNING, Laura Maylene Walter

"I started out writing novels—I wrote two bad ones before I ever touched a short story. ... Those failed novels taught me an immense amount about focus and about paying attention to my audience—essential skills for writing the short story.  Had I not written those bad novels I doubt I would have ever had any luck with short stories."

— Junot Díaz

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, short stories, novel writing, writing, reaching your audience, KEEP CREATING, never stop LEARNING, Junot Díaz

"Even making small films is an intense thing."

— Keith Ehrlich

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, short film, filmmaking, Keith Ehrlich

"The [creative] work I'm doing now, and the work I will do, is why I left corporate America.  If I can't remember to embrace the craziness with a smile, then I've made a terrible mistake."

— Eric Ryan Anderson

for Creatives  |  photography, creating isn't easy, creative fear, artists, the creative life, design your life, Eric Ryan Anderson, TAKE RISKS, your passion vs. the day job

"I read a book called Quitter by Jon Acuff.  In it, he encourages people not to bail on their full-time jobs as soon as they feel like their dream is gaining some traction.  These were wise words that I needed to hear.  A full-time job provides stability so that you can take more risks on your dream.  In our culture, we're prone to demonize our day jobs and exalt our dream jobs, but we fail to see that the former can be a platform for the latter.  In his book, Acuff explains that the word no is the most valuable word you have as someone working toward your dream."

— Dana Tanamachi

for Creatives  |  books, creating isn't easy, nonfiction, the creative life, Dana Tanamachi, TAKE RISKS, your passion vs. the day job, Jon Acuff

Follow Your Curiosity

"How does one get lost?  Through incorrect aims, as I have said.  Through wanting literary fame too quickly.  From wanting money too soon.  If only we could remember, fame and money are gifts given us only after we have gifted the world with our best, our lonely, our individual truths."

— Ray Bradbury

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, the successful artist, writing, KEEP CREATING, Ray Bradbury, the creative life

"I now knew the reason why this very talented writer kept getting to the one-yard line and was never able to score a touchdown—a working thriller. Instead of dedicating herself to nailing the form of the thriller/Story, she decided she was above it. She wanted the fruits of the labor (bestsellerdom) more than the labor itself (writing a brilliant and innovative hero at the mercy of the villain scene no matter if the book was ever published or not)."

— Shawn Coyne

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, thriller, the successful artist, writing, reaching your audience, Shawn Coyne

"This is why virtually all inexperienced writers end up in their heads instead of the unconscious: because the unconscious is scary as hell. It is hell for many of us."

— Robert Olen Butler

for Creatives  |  intuitive writing & pantsing, creating isn't easy, pantsing vs. plotting, creative fear, Robert Olen Butler, writing, writer's block

"That's the case for most content creators. Film makers. Artists. Writers. Musicians. We've made it easier than ever to make stuff, and harder than ever to make enough money to live."

— Jon Westenberg

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artists, music, writing, filmmaking, the creative life, value the art, Jon Westenberg

Follow Your Curiosity

"As soon as things get difficult, I walk away.  That's the great secret of creativity.  You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.  If you try to approach a cat and pick it up, hell, it won't let you do it.  You've got to say, 'Well, to hell with you.'  And the cat says, 'Wait a minute.  He's not behaving the way most humans do.'  Then the cat follows you out of curiosity: 'Well, what's wrong with you that you don't love me?'  Well, that's what an idea is.  See?  You just say, 'Well, hell, I don't need depression.  I don't need worry.  I don't need to push.'  The ideas will follow me.  When they're off-guard, and ready to be born, I'll turn around and grab them."

— Ray Bradbury

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, artist integrity, creative fear, writing, writer's block, creative block, ideas, Ray Bradbury

"I had the urge to do things differently, but school convinced me that was a problem.  In creative fields, being different is a good thing.  But until you can say you're a professional artist or performer, you're told that it's wrong to take a different path than everybody else.  You are described as awkward or difficult—so I was an awkward and difficult child."

— Ben Hart

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, artists, break the rules, Ben Hart, performance art, magic/illusion/mentalism

"Self-publishing is not easier, as you will find yourself mucking about in covers and copyediting and distribution and marketing for more hours than you spend writing—and when you publish traditionally you find yourself losing a lot of control over your work timelines and visions for the book's marketing."

— Kameron Hurley

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, reaching your audience, publishing, the creative life, Kameron Hurley

"A novel like The Grapes of Wrath may fill a new writer with feelings of despair and good old-fashioned jealousy—'I'll never be able to write anything that good, not if I live to be a thousand'—but such feelings can also serve as a spur, goading the writer to work harder and aim higher."

— Stephen King

for Creatives  |  books, creating isn't easy, creative fear, novel writing, writing, KEEP CREATING, Stephen King, never stop LEARNING, John Steinbeck

Follow Your Curiosity

"I now have a better understanding of how to communicate my ideas, but I still struggle every single day.  As soon as I stop struggling, I'll be dead."

— Jon Contino

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, reaching your audience, ideas, the creative life, never stop LEARNING, design, Jon Contino

"If you want to write believable fiction, you will have to cross over the line of your self-restraint and revel in the words and ideas that you would never express in your everyday life."

— Walter Mosley

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, artist's voice, ideas, Walter Mosley

"Whatever type of fiction you intend to write, the greatest challenge you face is to go your own way."

— Donald Maass

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, writing, Donald Maass

"The true failure of a writer is to quit, to give in.  A genuine writer accepts failure, understands how essential it is to the process, and simply continues to write, each time hoping the next story will be better than the one that came before it."

— Kevin Wilson

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, writing, KEEP CREATING, never stop LEARNING, Kevin Wilson

"Writing a novel is not nearly as difficult as some people would make it out to be."

— Walter Mosley

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, novel writing, writing, Walter Mosley

"We're never fully satisfied.  Despite being happy with most of my work, I still constantly struggle with those inner demons who tell me it's all junk.  That said, the older I get, the less time I spend worrying about how others receive my work, or even what others are working on."

— Eric Ryan Anderson

for Creatives  |  creative process, create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, feedback/criticism/rejection, the creative life, Eric Ryan Anderson

"You have to be willing to go to the place [in your mind] you don't want to go from time to time."

— Bryan Cranston

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, Bryan Cranston, acting

"Writing is hard. You have to sit for hours and type letters. You have to think of things that nobody ever thought of and tell them in ways that nobody ever told them before."

— James Altucher

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, writing, James Altucher

"Writing fiction, or at least trying to make a living by writing fiction, creates new ways for the writer to experience failure.  At first I was simply writing stories no one liked.  Then, once I got better, I started sending out the good stories to literary journals and getting rejected.  Then, once I started getting acceptances, I began receiving queries from agents who would then tell me I was not 'there' yet.  Then, once I got an agent, a year passed before he told me I was not progressing the way he had hoped, and we agreed to end our relationship.  Once I started writing short stories that were pretty good, everyone told me I really needed to write a novel.  Once I started writing short stories that were pretty good, everyone told me I really needed to write a novel.  Once I wrote a novel, it was rejected by everyone who read it.  Once I got enough publications to start applying for grants and awards, I didn't even come close to receiving any of them.  It was a weird cycle in which, instead of feeling happy I was getting better as a writer, I kept realizing how little I had actually progressed in the ways I started to quantify as success."

— Kevin Wilson

for Creatives  |  awards, creating isn't easy, short stories, novel writing, the successful artist, writing, KEEP CREATING, publishing, agents, feedback/criticism/rejection, the creative life, Kevin Wilson

"Playing shows has an immediacy that I'm not in control of ...  It took me a long time to enjoy that spontaneity and take chances.  It took me fucking up in front of a lot of people for a long time, and doing that enough times to realize that it doesn't matter: your intent is so much more important than the follow-through."

— Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, music, the creative life, Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine)

"Making yourself vulnerable and subjecting yourself to the judgment of others is a risk that you continue to take when you're creative."

— Tei Shi

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, feedback/criticism/rejection, the creative life, Tei Shi, TAKE RISKS

"The best advice I ever got was from a fellow writer who said: 'It's OK to admit it's hard.  If it were easy, everyone would do it.'"

— Brad Meltzer

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Brad Meltzer

"A famous quote from Chekhov that sounds better in Russian goes something like, 'If you are able not to write, don't write.'  If you can live without it, don't do it, because it's painful and humiliating and an awful lot of work, especially memoir."

— Elena Gorokhova

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, memoir, Russian, Elena Gorokhova, Anton Chekhov

"I got published when I was in my 20s, and my first novel was a sensation.  And I thought, 'Oh, my God! It's going to be like this all the time!'  Then books two through eight were failures.  I had five different publishers.  Three of them went out of business.  Two of them did nothing for the book and wouldn't take my calls."

— Caroline Leavitt

for Creatives  |  your 1st book, creating isn't easy, novel writing, the successful artist, writing, KEEP CREATING, publishing, Caroline Leavitt


You wouldn't want to immediately start performing in Carnegie Hall before you've practiced your violin for 10 or 20 years.  Writing is no different.  It's hard—show me that you have respect for that."

— Ayesha Pande

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, music, writing, KEEP CREATING, agents, value the art, Ayesha Pande, performance art

"What I consider to be the 'real' life of a modern-day novelist: There will be high points, there will be harsh blows, and you will probably have to teach, consult, or edit to make ends meet.  All you can do is return to the writing, day after day—and never, ever give up."

— Nicki Porter

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, KEEP CREATING, the creative life, Nicki Porter

"Yell.  Jump.  Play.  Out-run those sons-of-bitches.  They'll never live the way you live.  Go do it."

— Ray Bradbury

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, creative fear, Ray Bradbury, artists must EXPERIENCE, the creative life

"I have this saying: 'There's no music playing when your dreams are coming true.'  That is the hustle.  The hustle is humbling and, at best, completely authentic and gracious."

— Rebecca Rebouché

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, artist integrity, music, painting, Rebecca Rebouché

"At this moment in my career, after publishing twenty-seven books and at least as many short stories, I still get rejected on a regular basis. Recently I wrote a story that every major magazine rejected. After going to the major presses, I went to the smaller ones. Nobody will publish it—nobody. So don't despair—accepting rejection is part of the job description."

— Walter Mosley

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, the successful artist, writing, publishing, feedback/criticism/rejection, the creative life, Walter Mosley

"We give a lot of advice to young writers: Read a lot. Study the classics. Write about what you know. Show, don't tell. But danger lies in teaching too much and warning too little. Rarely do we tell the would-be wordsmith: This is a hard road you're taking. Are you sure it is the one for you? Is there anything else, anything at all, you'd also enjoy doing? If so, go and do it. The world is wide open to you. Spare yourself the agony, young one."

— Nicki Porter

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, write what you know, writing, Nicki Porter

"Once you are engaged in writing a piece of fiction from your unconscious, it is crucial that you write every day, because the nature of this place where you go is such that it's very difficult to find your way in. It's pure torture. But even though it's terrible getting in, once you’re in, if you keep going back every day, though it's still always daunting and difficult and scary, it's not nearly so much so."

— Robert Olen Butler

for Creatives  |  intuitive writing & pantsing, creative process, creating isn't easy, Robert Olen Butler, writing, KEEP CREATING

"Writing a novel is a lot harder than writing nonfiction."

— Joseph Finder

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, Joseph Finder

"This is challenging.  It is courageous.  It is something that no one out there will ever encourage us to do.  The desire must come from within.  It is the soft whisper at the edges of our consciousness.  Our soul aches to know life in a way we can't grasp with our conscious mind.  Writers are idealists.  At our best, we are more interested in the nature of things than we are in our own particular struggle."

— Alan Watt

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Alan Watt

"Screenwriters and novelists see the world in very different ways, and have very different observing devices for interpreting their fictional worlds.  Shifting from a screenwriting sensibility to a prose sensibility is the hardest hurdle you will face and also the most difficult one to wrap your head around."

— Jeff Lyons

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, Jeff Lyons, screenwriting

"Writing is a subjective sport, I'm afraid.  Strap on your helmet and flash your skinned knees with pride.  After all, only those with the courage to submit can be rejected."

— Nicki Porter

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, publishing, feedback/criticism/rejection, Nicki Porter

"Your work will be rejected.  Often, always, and forever.  Good work.  Quality work.  Publishable work.  Work you've born your soul into.  You will be turned down not only for logic and for reason, but for the silliest of subjectivities: The editor's cat has just died, and your work is too sad.  The agent is moving in a darker publishing direction; your work is too light.  Your poems are too short.  Your essays are too long.  We've seen this before.  We've never seen this before and wouldn't know how to market it.  It's good, but it won't sell.  It's good, but it's just not right for us.  You do understand, don't you?"

— Nicki Porter

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, publishing, editors, feedback/criticism/rejection, Nicki Porter

"You must always keep changing your process!  Because there are two of you, one who wants to write and one who doesn't. The one who wants to write has to keep fooling the one who doesn't."

— María Irene Fornés

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, writing, KEEP CREATING, María Irene Fornés

"Because of the creative writing pedagogy in this country, and because of the nature of this art form, and because of the medium you work with, and because of the rigors of artistic vision, and because of youth, and because no one has ever told you these things clearly, the great likelihood is that all of the fiction you've written is mortally flawed [stemming from analyzation rather than the unconscious]."

— Robert Olen Butler

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, Robert Olen Butler, writing

"The first use for propinquity is removing all the little barriers that will keep you from writing. The more of these exist, the less likely you are to write. Many of them are simple, and some so tiny you may doubt that they'll keep you from writing. But they will."

— Chris Fox

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, writer's block, protect the art, the creative life, Chris Fox

"The characters who resonate most widely today don't merely reflect our times, they reflect ourselves. That's true whether we're talking about genre fare, historicals, satire, or serious literary stuff. Revealing human truths means transcending tropes, peering into the past with fresh eyes, unearthing all that is hidden, and moving beyond what is easy and comfortable to write what is hard and even painful to face."

— Donald Maass

for Creatives  |  characters, creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, Donald Maass

"If you're at the stage where you only have one or two books out please take this to heart: It will get better, and it will become easier. All you have to do is keep writing, and keep learning."

— Chris Fox

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, KEEP CREATING, never stop LEARNING, Chris Fox

"Future You is watching. Don't disappoint them. You know you are capable of more, so get your ass in that chair and do the work. Every day. You know you're capable of it, and Future You is already thanking you from your mansion on the beach."

— Chris Fox

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, the successful artist, writing, KEEP CREATING, Chris Fox

"The author T.S. Eliot was also a banker. Another writer, Kurt Vonnegut, sold cars. One of the greatest composers of our time, Philip Glass, didn’t earn a living from his calling making music until he was forty-two. Even as his work was premiering at the Met, he worked as a plumber and renewed his taxi license, just in case."

— Elle Luna

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artists, music, writing, the creative life, T.S. Eliot, Kurt Vonnegut, Elle Luna, Philip Glass

"Just becaue a novel is easy to read does not mean it was easy to write."

— Freya North

for Creatives  |  reading, creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, Freya North

"Writing is my joy, but not alwasy; much of the time it is my job, and I have to write whether I feel like it or not, whether inspiration strikes or not.  That is how you make a story unfold."

— Jane Green

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, KEEP CREATING, inspiration/the muse, the creative life, Jane Green

"The greatest difficulty is the actual writing.  It is always easier to do something else.  Dull, awful jobs like laundry, ironing and weeding suddenly feel like an urgent priority when you're looking at a blank page that needs to be filled with a couple of thousand words before you can sit back and breathe deeply."

— Jane Green

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, word count, Jane Green

"I warmly sympathise with you. I too, am lazy. My heart sinks when I contemplate the two or three hundred virgin sheets of foolscap I have to besmirch with more or less well chosen words in order to produce a 60,000-word book."

— Ian Fleming

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, word count, Ian Fleming

"It's a really hard thing to do, day after day, to explore your consciousness and to try to represent it as fully as possible."

— Hilton Als

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, the creative life, Hilton Als

"It is our job as writers to do the work, have the courage to bring it out and present it to the world, because that's why we are here."

— Andrew McCarthy

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, value the art, Andrew McCarthy

"You have to give yourself permission, say to yourself, 'I'm not foolish for wanting this.'  All writers have to fight the same fight.  I have to write 2,000 words today, no matter what.  That's my discipline, and that's me protecting the work."

— Lisa Scottoline

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, creative fear, writing, protect the art, word count, Lisa Scottoline, the creative life, value the art

"I thought that I would get to be a bestseller. ... The thing is that it took awhile.  It takes awhile to become established, and so you can't be discouraged if just one or two books don't sell."

— John Sandford

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, the successful artist, writing, KEEP CREATING, John Sandford

"There is so much more to 'being a writer' than putting words to paper.  The process that a writer endures is wholly intensive, an all-consuming effort that can define one's day, week, month, year."

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, the creative life

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

— Thomas Edison

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, Thomas Edison

"I think a lot of new writers stop with the joy part.  They've written this, and it was so exciting, and it's so messy and flawed and glorious, and that's one-tenth of what you have to do."

— Ann Hood

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, the successful artist, writing, Ann Hood

"Writing is hard for every last one of us... Coal mining is harder. Do you think miners stand around all day talking about how hard it is to mine for coal? They do not. They simply dig."

— Cheryl Strayed

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, writing, KEEP CREATING, Cheryl Strayed

"Good writing is always hard work, no matter how experienced or prolific the writer."

— Jack Hamann

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Ernest Hemingway, Jack Hamann

"The world is really tough on people who want to be writers, and there's precious little support for it."

— Lisa Scottoline

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Lisa Scottoline

"The act of making something from nothing will be the hardest thing you'll ever do."

— Tom Spangauer

for Creatives  |  creative process, creating isn't easy, Tom Spangauer

"It's important to recognize and to respect what it is to create something out of nothing—the challenge of it, the difficulties of it."

— Jhumpa Lahiri

for Creatives  |  Jhumpa Lahiri, creative process, creating isn't easy, value the art

"Write the painful stuff.  No soft landings.  NO taking the stake out."

— Marian Palaia

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Marian Palaia

"Hands down one of the biggest learnings I've had in this industry is that the writing doesn't get easier.  And maybe that's good—maybe that means each book is fresh enough and unique and challenging enough that of course it's hard."

— Lisa Gardner

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, Lisa Gardner

"Set challenges for yourself, then tackle them. ... Treat it like a game where the rules are ever-changing.

— Chuck Wendig

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, writing, Chuck Wendig, break the rules

"I think all art comes from that: It comes from struggle and search—and, you know, I don't think it's something that should come easily."

— Jhumpa Lahiri

for Creatives  |  Jhumpa Lahiri, creating isn't easy, art

"If you aren't getting rejected by 90 percent of the things you apply to, you aren't aiming high enough."

— Alicia Jo Rabins

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, writing, feedback/criticism/rejection, Alicia Jo Rabins

"Making people believe the unbelievable is no trick; it's work."

— Stephen King

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Stephen King

"Every artist in the world fights this battle every day. To go to a scary place that makes some other part of you say: What are you doing? No. Just no. No. No.  The only way to create a work of literary art is to stop that voice. Your total attention needs to be on the sensual flow of experience from the unconscious."

— Robert Olen Butler

for Creatives  |  intuitive writing & pantsing, creating isn't easy, creative fear, art, Robert Olen Butler, writing, creating in the moment

"Writing is something you spend your life learning how to do and you never quite get there, you never finish learning about writing, that's why it's such a great job."

— David Mitchell

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, author David Mitchell, never stop LEARNING

"There's a battle going on inside all of us, why not acknowledge that this battle is what defines us as humans and start writing about how it feels to be in this perpetual battle?"

— Tom Spangauer

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, Tom Spangauer

"Cut your heart out of your chest, clutch it in your fist, and slam it down onto the paper.  That is the real meaning of write what you know, which is probably written as, write with total fucking honesty.  Take all that shit that lurks inside you, all your fears and wants and experiences, all your neuroses and psychoses and loves and loathings, all your hopes and dreams and memories, and inject 'em into your work." (artist)

— Chuck Wendig (art by Cheyenne)

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, creative fear, art, artists, write what you know, writing, Chuck Wendig, Cheyenne

"There are two of you, one who wants to write and one who doesn't. The one who wants to write has to keep fooling the one who doesn't." (artist)

— María Irene Fornés (art by Jenna Rose Simon)

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, art, artists, writing, KEEP CREATING, María Irene Fornés, Jenna Rose Simon

"Claim your life, own your existence. Write in spite of whatever conflict you face."

— Chuck Wendig

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, KEEP CREATING, protect the art, Chuck Wendig, the creative life

"Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers." (artist)

— T.S. Eliot (art by Rob Smedley)

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, editors, Rob Smedley, T.S. Eliot

"I keep writing fiction because it isn't easy, because it is the only discipline I care about that I will never truly master, no matter how long I work at it."

— Michael Bourne

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Michael Bourne

"The creative life is very much one where you need to put on blinders and charge forth regardless of what might be out there. You will always find reasons not to do something. It's much harder—and much more valuable—to find the opposite."

— Chuck Wendig

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, Chuck Wendig, the creative life

"It is such a hard thing to write a book.  It is incredibly hard.  And it's a solitary, isolated thing to do.  And writers need every ounce of support they can get."

— Heidi Pitlor

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, solitude of creating, Heidi Pitlor

"Advocacy is a challenge because it is—not because it might pervert writing, any more than love or sex or hope might pervert writing."

— Reginald Dwayne Betts

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, artist's message, Reginald Dwayne Betts

"I learned that it's a way harder process to write a novel than anyone thinks."

— Heidi Pitlor

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, novel writing, writing, Heidi Pitlor

"Every writer can point to another one who started off earlier and with (seemingly) more ease and more time."

— Amy Sue Nathan

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Amy Sue Nathan

"I think being a writer is emotionally brave, and if you can't go there, maybe you're not ready to do it yet."

— Ann Hood

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, creative fear, writing, Ann Hood

"When work does not go well, no life is more miserable than that of a writer.  But when it goes go well, when the illumination has focused a work so that it goes limpidly and flows, there is no gladness like it."

— Carson McCullers

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, the creative life, Carson McCullers

"If you are looking for perfection or an artistic expression that is free of chaos, you should give up writing."

— Laurie Halse Anderson

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Laurie Halse Anderson

"'Writer's guilt': A tension between desperately wanting to record life's richness, but knowing that pulling out my paper and pen will take me away from the beauty that surrounds me."

— Judith Pulman (art by Jane Hinchliffe)

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, art, artists, writing, artists must EXPERIENCE, Judith Pulman, Jane Hinchliffe

"I think a story, when properly told, finds its own natural length.  If you try to extend it too much, it just stretches and begins to bore, and if you try to compress it too much, it just fractures.  So you just hope that you can find the right rhythm.  It's a musical thing.  You feel it out, you cut back, you switch things around—until it feels entirely natural.  A story should feel easy when of course it's far from easy." (artist)

— Colum McCann

for Creatives  |  Colum McCann, creating isn't easy, short stories, novel writing, writing, storytelling, value the art

"You have to be physically tough to follow the stories... you have to be tough to survive in your own world."

— Haruki Murakami

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, storytelling, Haruki Murakami

"Dangerous writing is not serial killers or speed-crazed race car drivers.  What makes writing dangerous is something much more personal. To write dangerous is something much more personal.  To write dangerous is to go to parts of ourselves that we know exist but try to ignore—parts that are sad, sore; parts that are silent, and heavy.  Taboo.  Things that won't leave us alone."

— Tom Spangauer

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, artist integrity, creative fear, writing, Tom Spangauer

"The specific challenge is to get it done.  And to get it done as powerfully and as beautifully as you can.  And to split the atom every time you write a sentence.  That's all.  No big deal.  Just split the atom once.  And then do it again and again.  And then find a good title.  And hope that someone gets blown away." (artist)

— Colum McCann (art by Will)

for Creatives  |  creative process, Colum McCann, creating isn't easy, art, artists, writing

"It's gotta be with a great sense of fun!  Writing is not a serious business.  It's a joy and a celebration.  You should be having fun at it.  Ignore the authors who say, 'oh, my god, what work.'  No, to hell with that!  ...If it's work, stop it, and do something else."

— Ray Bradbury

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, writing, Ray Bradbury

"We should all feel as if we're in over our heads when we write; that's how we know we're writing about something that really matters." (artist)

— Lee Martin (art by "lightcolorsart")

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, art, artists, writing, value the art, Lee Martin, lightcolorsart

"Protect your voice and your vision.  Protect it—and if going on the Internet and reading Internet reviews is bad for you, don't do it.  It's awfully rough right now.  It's a jungle out there.  Do what gets you to write, and not what blocks you."

— Anne Rice

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, creative fear, writing, writer's block, reviews, Anne Rice, protect the art

"Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.  One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand." (artist)

— George Orwell (art by IxDoll)

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, magic/mystery of creating/art, art, artists, novel writing, writing, George Orwell, IxDoll

"The moment you think you're done, and the moment you think you've made it, you're finished.  The best motivator is to remember what it's like to have nothing at all - to keep yourself hungry."

— Brad Meltzer

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, the successful artist, writing, Brad Meltzer

"I don't believe in inspiration.  I believe that you sit at your desk, and you push your pencil around, and you feel lousy about yourself for a while, and eventually, you just start writing.  Everyone I know who's lucky in this business is lucky because they're working really hard, and then good stuff happens."

— Dinty W. Moore

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, KEEP CREATING, inspiration/the muse, Dinty W. Moore

"Anyone who writes knows that the most complicated thing is the rendering of events and characters in such a way that they are not realistic but real.  In order for this to happen it is necessary to believe in the story one is working on."

— Elena Ferrante

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, Elena Ferrante

"Writing is a job. It isn't some special calling for the elite. It isn't some form of magic where the shaman practitioners must be deified. I'm a writer, and damn lucky to be one, but I'm no better than someone who makes toasters on an assembly line."

— J.A. Konrath

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, magic/mystery of creating/art, J.A. Konrath, writing

"If you can write your way into a problem, you can write your way out."

— Natalia Sylvester

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, writer's block, Natalia Sylvester

"I enjoy the challenge. Writing in a new genre is like dating someone new. It's exciting. It's fun. It's uncomfortable. It forces you to try new things, tests your limits, teaches you how to overcome obstacles, and is an opportunity for growth."

— J.A. Konrath

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, J.A. Konrath, writing, genre, never stop LEARNING

"I wrote the kind of book I want to read.  I was as authentically myself as I could be.  That's tougher than some people would think."

— Tom Cooper

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, artist integrity, writing, Tom Cooper

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

— Maya Angelou

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, storytelling, Maya Angelou

"What all writers need to be reminded of from time to time: that this thing we do, this thing we've devoted our lives to, is supposed to be fun."

— Andrew Porter

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, writing, Andrew Porter

"Melville wrote a letter to Hawthorne saying he longed for 'the calm, the coolness, the silent grass-growing mood in which a man ought always to compose,' but that he could rarely attain it because he was 'so pulled hither and thither by circumstances.'  It's the fantasy of every writer to have that kind of time.  And it's a really, really precious and rare thing when you're lucky enough to get it."

— Elizabeth Gilbert

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Elizabeth Gilbert, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne

"It's completely out of my hands.  That's the magical and destructive thing a writer has to face: control is much more of an illusion than you imagine."

— Barry Unsworth

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, magic/mystery of creating/art, creative fear, Barry Unsworth

"I've learned that writing never gets easy.  When the work is hard (emotionally, intellectually, creatively) you have to work hard (emotionally, intellectually, creatively).  Maybe it's akin to sports: players work forward.  Even a game win yesterday does not mean you don't have practice today and another game tomorrow.  It never gets easy."

— Terrance Hayes

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, writing, Terrance Hayes, sport, the creative life

"Some writers hate the idea that luck plays a big part in success, but it does. But I've found that the harder you work, the luckier you get."

— J.A. Konrath

for Creatives  |  creating isn't easy, J.A. Konrath, the successful artist, writing

"At some point, you have to say 'I'm the writer, it's my job to figure out where I'm going to go with it,' you know?"

— Christopher Rice

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, creating isn't easy, Christopher Rice, writing

"Quite frankly, I'm tired of writers complaining how tough it all is.  Man up.  It's a wonderful and privileged way to live your life.  Embracing difficulty is just part of it all."

— Colum McCann

for Creatives  |  Colum McCann, creating isn't easy, writing, the creative life

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