Ira Glass on Art

Sick as a dog right now. A throwing up dog.

So rather than try and come up with any cleverness of my own, I’m going to bring in someone else’s.

pat

This entry was posted in the craft of writing, videos. By Pat27 Responses

27 Comments

  1. maine character
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 2:43 PM | Permalink

    It sucks to hear you’re sick. As Ira says, it’s going to take a while, but you just have to fight your way through it. Or better yet, sleep through it.

  2. Posted February 22, 2013 at 2:44 PM | Permalink

    Sorry to hear your olives stuffed with garlic didnt work!

    Take it easy, watch some Buffy, and Get well soon!

  3. Colts_pet
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 2:45 PM | Permalink

    sorry to hear you are down. makes me glad i got my flu shot this year. hope the sick ends fast and your back in top shape soon. thank you for the share hope you did it from bed! *smiles*

    Get Well Wishes,
    pet

    • Colts_pet
      Posted February 22, 2013 at 10:12 PM | Permalink

      you’re not your. ugh i really need to work on my grammar. it dosnt look this bad among the facebook dross.

  4. Holmelund
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 3:08 PM | Permalink

    Best wishes. Get well soon.

  5. Hawks
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 3:30 PM | Permalink

    Step 1- Swab Throat
    Step 2- Isolate the “Bug”
    Step 3- Break mind into 2 parts–1 part focusing on the genetic makeup of the “bug” and the other on Joss Whedon’s power of awesome.
    Step 4- Destroy “bug” with said awesomeness

    • cromotocciano
      Posted February 26, 2013 at 12:03 PM | Permalink

      Richard?

  6. TheLazarus
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 3:31 PM | Permalink

    Ok, this is not right, the self proclaimed prophet of Whedon should be beyond poor earthly sickness. The followers of Whedon demand that the prophet of our religion cast out the demons created by FOX and get back to work promoting the goodness that is Firefly.

    Get better young man and Dftba

  7. PostaKiwi
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 3:54 PM | Permalink

    You don’t know how much it helped me. Thanks :3

  8. Kihen
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 4:34 PM | Permalink

    Thanks, i needed that. A LOT.

  9. Tempi Tantrum
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 4:38 PM | Permalink

    Immediately went to Youtube and searched ‘Ira Glass’; that video was brilliant and filled me with a much needed bubbling sense of hope.

    I hope you feel better soon Pat! Whenever I’m sick I watch some good ol’ episodes of ‘Frasier’, you can’t beat it :)

  10. snakefist
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 5:15 PM | Permalink

    speaking of someone else’s cleverness… harlan ellison once said ‘you know you’re a writer when a writer tells you you’re a writer.’ and i am one. sortof. in my native language, at least. so, for what it’s worth coming from me:

    “you are a writer”

    [snakefist considers this matter closed. he felt an urge to write this down. without going into technicalities regarding… anything. snakefist needs no answer, he never does. he’s quite mad, you know]

  11. theotherjason
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 10:37 PM | Permalink

    Hey Pat. Keep the beard clean. You’re welcome.

  12. Brian
    Posted February 22, 2013 at 11:27 PM | Permalink

    I have that speech printed out and sitting on my desk. It has definitely kept me going a few times when I just wanted to give up and go do something else. Thanks for posting it.

  13. cjkoger
    Posted February 23, 2013 at 5:21 PM | Permalink

    This is one of my favorite quotes the last couple years, and I have shared it with multiple people. Like Brain, I have it printed and on my desk. I haven’t ever seen this video version. Thanks for sharing Pat.

  14. DrFood
    Posted February 23, 2013 at 10:19 PM | Permalink

    Feel better soon, Pat! This pediatrician recommends probiotics. Sure, you could go with the classic yogurt, but consider kefir or creme fraiche. Even cooler, try to find some naturally fermented vegetables. Sauerkraut is classic (but if it’s been canned it is now dead to you) but kimchi is also good. In my fridge right now I have fermented collards and fermented celery. You’d have to get these from a friend, or maybe a health food store.

    Or, if you prefer higher tech solutions, even Walgreens carries probiotic capsules. You can give the powder inside those capsules to Oot sprinkled onto applesauce or yogurt. I give a kid over 3 one capsule twice a day. Taking in a good probiotic will get your gut flora back to normal faster.

  15. anne_a_belle
    Posted February 24, 2013 at 3:39 PM | Permalink

    Wow…as a young writer, I’ve never thought about it like this before. This is fantastic. Thanks for sharing. :)

  16. GhostWriter
    Posted February 24, 2013 at 6:59 PM | Permalink

    Ugh… I’ve been sick three times in the past year. Not fun.

    Everybody thinks I’m nuts but I recommend Tom Yum Kung or another spicy thai soup when you’re sick. It always helps me breathe better what with all the herbs and chilies.

    Also, thanks for the video. I also like “Fake it til you make it.” In either case, writing more and worrying less seems to be the answer.

  17. charolette33
    Posted February 25, 2013 at 6:30 AM | Permalink

    Yuck. I hope you feel better soon.

  18. willowfey79
    Posted February 25, 2013 at 11:23 AM | Permalink

    I needed this and I have procrastinated today for far too long.. off to Word!

  19. ImaginatoEstVito
    Posted February 25, 2013 at 12:00 PM | Permalink

    Please feel better soon. I hate to think that you are sick. Thank you for the video it is very true … even though writing sounds like a lot of work it is always worth the effort in the end. If you hadn’t persisted through this phase, well, the world would be a very dull and dismal place.

  20. morning
    Posted February 25, 2013 at 10:30 PM | Permalink

    I don’t want to be a downer, but does anyone else not really care for this quote?

    I’m a big fan if Ira Glass, and I’m fully behind the primary message being expressed here: Everyone sucks at first, power through.

    But, I really really dislike the whole “good taste” part.

    Everyone with any serious interest in an artistic endeavor believes they have “good taste” to some extent.

    There is no one. No One. Staying up into the early morning hours, working on their novel, who thinks they have crappy taste.

    To me, it feels as though Glass is saying, to some extent: You’re special, you’ve got “taste,” if you just keep at it, your genius will be revealed to the world.

    And that really doesn’t fit with the legion of teenage girls churning out twilight knockoffs, or even more “serious” twenty-somethings working tirelessly, who will simply never have what it takes.

    People get into writing for a myriad of different reasons. I don’t think “good taste” is even particularly high on the list.

    It just feels like Glass is trying to give his audience a feeling that they are somehow special. The encouragement is good, and a large part of this advice is good, but the notion of “good taste” marking us out is ridiculous at best and dangerous at worst.

    • Kamarachak
      Posted February 26, 2013 at 8:37 PM | Permalink

      I assume Glass is smart enough to realise that good taste alone is not enough to qualify one to be an artist, or that one must be destined to be an artist if they have good taste. Good taste is the cause for the artist’s dissatisfaction with work that doesn’t live up to their ambition.

      I didn’t feel he was trying to make me feel special. Rather, he acknowledged my (and probably many other artists’) feelings that nothing we do is as good as we know it could be– and that that feeling alone is not ‘proof’ that we’re not good enough for something we’re so passionate about.

      – “a ‘serious’ twenty-something working tirelessly”

    • Posted April 14, 2013 at 9:32 AM | Permalink

      Good lord. The army of straw men defending your post.

  21. peteloto
    Posted February 26, 2013 at 4:46 PM | Permalink

    Thanks for this. I may not have your wordy powers nor do I aspire to the heights of literary awesomeness, but I am a young aviator struggling to learn how to fly. I appreciate the reminder that being bad at something when you’re a beginner is okay. Instead of mastering everything today, I’ll just try to suck less tomorrow.

  22. Kiba
    Posted March 5, 2013 at 6:25 PM | Permalink

    I need this today. Thank you.

  23. JuliannaUnderhill
    Posted September 7, 2015 at 11:51 PM | Permalink

    Thank you for posting this. I have been gearing up to write my whole life, mostly by reading loads of cool stuff for decades. I have great taste, in many genres. And my writing has left me kinda disapointed. In all my reading about writing, nobody said I would have to work through suckitude for years. It should be obvious, right? But it’s good to have it said out loud, by someone who knows. I know it’s weird to be glad my writing will suck for years, but I am! It will suck, and then one day it won’t.

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