Self-indulgent Whining
Here's a blog post that I drafted on Monday but didn't post, probably because it seemed melodramatic to me even in my creative despair.
The basic problem is this: I will never have another good idea again. I have used all of my good ideas up, and have come in a day late and a dollar short.I share it now for no particularly good reason. It probably serves to illustrate something relatively important about me, or about the creative process, or about blogging.Oh well. I will proceed to live out the rest of my days:
(a) Writing copy for insurance company newsletters, and
(b) Whining about it.
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Comments
Many moons ago I came to the realization that there are no more original ideas, only creative takes on old ideas. Now, every time I bring up this theory someone steps in and attempts to prove me wrong but they fail to understand the basis of it - we are so heavily influenced by what we've seen and heard and read that all of our "original" ideas are, in some way, inspired by those ideas that came before us. There are no more original ideas - we've used them all up.
Now, all that said, the point of this post is this - methinks you're bing too critical of yourself and your work and expecting something that cannot happen. Not to say that I think you should push out derivitive drivel and crap - quite the contrary. I think you're a very talented writer and a very creative guy. I think you should stop expecting to write the next "great work" and continue doing the kickass work you're known for.
Neil Gaiman, one of my favourite comic authors (his novels never grabbed me in quite the same way) is, in my opinion, a master at telling stories we already know. His run on Sandman rarely had an original story but it had numerous original takes on old stories. He took my basic theory and actually used it in his craft to brilliant effect.
Jesus fuck I'm rambling... See what happens when you read blogs and post comments before your morning coffee...
Ok, summary before I bore you to tears (assuming I haven't already). I think you're being far too hard on yourself and probably expecting something that is simply not possible. You're an incredibly talented guy and will certainly have more good ideas soon enough. And probably have had more than a handful since you wrote that blog entry on Monday...
Hang in there. Nobody wants to see Jeff Tidball writing copy for an insurance company. Insurance companies are evil, after all...
Canadian Jeff: As a writer, I've always taken more comfort in the notion that there never *have* been any original ideas. We monkeys get it all from what's outside the cave, then paint it on what's inside. (Sound meaningful zen gong now.)
Californian Jeff: Do you ever have the opposite problem? You know, where you're working on something and you get an idea that's "too good for this silly little project" so you set it aside to work with it later? If so, give ma an example of one.
For the record, I just picked up "Pulp Zombies" on Friday because a) you wrote it and b) I think I saw a jet pack inside it somewhere. It's excellently done, in my opinion -- balancing opinion, encouragement, and actual utility with deceptive ease.
Now, tying it all together, there's this: You have the invaluable and underrated skill every writer-as-craftsman (vs. writer-as-artist) needs: The ability to write well on even a tired or mundane subject. You have a talent for skillful execution (and follow-through) which you should not underestimate unless you want me to think you a dumbass.
So, if you don't have any good ideas right now, go out and steal one plainly from off the gaming/video/book shelf and write it well.
This, however, is why procrastination is good. I've always got something fun left that I never got around to doing in the first place. You and your "responsible work ethic" just leave you with writer's block.