I hate this, I hate what I’m writing. This cliched bullshit. I’ve spent 10 minutes writing about ‘appreciating good art.’  Contrived meaningless gibberish. Being frustrated is one of the steps to creating work you might actually be proud of. Getting things down on metaphorical paper is the second. The trimming of the fat is next. Then you might actually have a semblance of a finished work that a semi-sane person may read.

I watched American Symphony last night about songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Baptiste. It really shone on a light on how difficult it is to create truly great art. How long it takes and that it’s actually work. I always associated music and writing with being fun. If they weren’t fun then they weren’t worth doing, because they were creative pursuits. But the more I learn, is that to make worthwhile art is to spend unmeasurable hours of work going where you haven’t been before. Through that work there will be growth. The work will help transform you into a different person. This doesn’t mean you will become George Bernard Shaw but you will be a person who shows up to finish what you start. Creating, not just consuming. In the end, you might be the only person who see’s it but if nothing else you grew through the process.

As I record some musical ideas this evening I get frustrated after the initial shininess wears off. I try to remember how making art is better than simply consuming. That one simple idea you tinker with does more for your soul than the entire back catalogue from The Beatles. I am lazy, I do two takes and think that’s it, that’s as good as it can get. No more re-recording or endless takes, or reviewing and coming back to it. Did Beethoven string together a few melodic sequences and call it a day? Head off to his room and indulge in wine and cured meats. This evening, I stay at the guitar. Re-record, listen back, think analytically, stave off distraction for this hour. Is it perfect? Far from it, but it does have more character than it did where I initially thought it was finished.

Tonight? Spend 10 minutes and create your art. Start it. Then finish your first draft.