Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
A story is a series of incremental pulses, each of which does something to us. Each puts us in a new place, relative to where we just were. Criticism is not some inscrutable, mysterious process. It’s just a matter of: (1) noticing ourselves responding to a work of art, moment by moment, and (2) getting better at articulating that response.
George Saunders • A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
Then Michael wrote Cooked, and his agent—this was Binky Urban, a really powerful agent—read the part of the draft which described me, and she said, “Oh wow, what a charismatic character. Does she have any book ideas?” And he said, “Well, yes actually, she has an idea.” So I told her what I was thinking, and she said, “Yes, this is a good idea but i
... See moreAdam Moss • The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing
But our charter changed for a little while. We were trying to make sense of Jimmy’s theory of the five-second read: if a song doesn’t grab you within that short span, it’s not going to grab you at all.
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson • Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove
Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is
... See moreWho is speaking, what is being said, and what is the relation between the two?
Vivian Gornick • The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative
All of us who do creative work...get into it because we have good taste. But there’s a gap. For the first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making...It’s not that great. It’s really not that great. It’s trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but it’... See more
Celine Nguyen • The Divine Discontent
To be human is to confuse a satisfying story with a meaningful one, and to mistake life for something huge with two legs.
Richard Powers • The Overstory: A Novel
On the trip, we were talking and I told him, “I’ve been putting this pressure on myself to come up with an idea of a book to write that would be groundbreaking.” He said, “Write the book you already know.” I said, “I guess the book should just be this philosophy that I have: salt, oil, acid, heat.” He said, “No one’s ever said that before. It’s a g
... See moreAdam Moss • The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing
Our tastes make us what we are, but they can also cast a shadow over our own work. “All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste,” says public radio personality Ira Glass. “But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. B
... See more