Inspiration and Grit For Struggling Artists

ILLUSTRATOR ALERT: TAKE A LOOK SUNDAY WILL END THIS COMING SUNDAY IF SOMEONE DOES NOT SUBMIT THEIR WORK FOR CRITIQUE!

Matthew Weiner Creator of Mad Men talked about his life struggle and gives reassuring life advice over on FastCompany.com It is an interesting article, but the bottom line and the one that applies to all of us is below:

It took seven years from the time I wrote Mad Men until it finally got on the screen. I lived every day with that script as if it were going to happen tomorrow. That’s the faith you have to have.

You can’t set a clock for yourself. If you do, you are not a writer.

Hollywood is tough, but I do believe that if you are truly talented, get your material out there, put up with the rejection, and don’t set a time limit for yourself, someone will notice you.

The most defeatist thing I hear is, “I’m going to give it a couple of years.” You can’t set a clock for yourself. If you do, you are not a writer. You should want it so badly that you don’t have a choice. You have to commit for the long haul. There’s no shame in being a starving artist. Get a day job, but don’t get too good at it. It will take you away from your writing.

The greatest regret I have is that, early in my career, I showed myself such cruelty for not having accomplished anything significant. I spent so much time trying to write, but was paralyzed by how behind I felt. Many years later I realized that if I had written only a couple of pages a day, I would’ve written 500 pages at the end of a year (and that’s not even working weekends). Any contribution you make on a daily basis is fantastic. I still happen to write almost everything at once, but I now cut myself slack on all of the thinking and procrastination time I use. I know that it’s all part of my creative process.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy