Eric Kent Edstrom's Blog, page 10

Raise the Level of the Pond

Throw a stone into the water and watch the ripples spread and then subside.

Though the surface may grow calm, the stone has made a longer lasting change than it seems. It has raised the level of the pond.

Your creative work is never wasted, even if it barely makes a splash.

The State of the Book

I wrote the first draft of this beast over six days back in February.

It’s now the beginning of April and I’m still pushing at it. Bit by bit.

Thing is, I could be done by now. I could have revised and published it. The problem was that I realized it could be better. Way better.

There is always a tension between getting it done and shipping, and making it perfect and shipping. I’m trying to hit the sweet spot in between.

There have been days I’ve considered binning the whole thing (yeah, I said binning because it’s fun to say that as if I’m a Brit or something). But then my wife read the first five chapters and responded with enthusiasm.

I’m pressing forward, even while feeling quite ill for the past five days. Today I set out to murder a particularly lovely darling. The result? Two brand new chapters. I can’t speak for other creatives, but sometimes it takes time.

In the end, I don’t want to put out a novel I wouldn’t want to read. So I’m doing my best to make it awesome.

I’ve moved the progress bar to 15%!

I’ve Got Nothing

It’s what you say on those days when you’re exhausted, sick, emotionally drained. The last thing on your mind is creating something. You’re pretty much focused on surviving.

You have two choices. Dig in and see what your tired frame of mind can produce, or you can rest up. Neither is the right choice every time.

But if you’ve got a scene in your novel or screenplay where a character is exhausted, sick or emotionally drained, maybe it’s the right choice right now.

Utter Uncertainty

Not just a little uncertainty.

Utter.

Sometimes a project comes to that. It’s not a fork in road, making you choose which way you’ll go. Instead, it’s a flat, empty plain, allowing you to go in any direction you want.

There are no landmarks, nothing on the horizon to suggest that one direction offers more hope than any other.

And when you’re in the middle of that novel, or song, or art installation, you have to keep going. The only alternative is paralysis. Death.

But the plain isn’t empty, is it? After all, you are there.

It’s time to draw upon your life experiences, your creative vision, your purpose. There is nothing there because you haven’t created it yet.

Utter uncertainty is the Void, and it’s challenging you to fill it up with beauty and truth.

Nothing has Changed (except the hair)

This is me circa 1980. I’m playing a game on my brothers’ TRS-80.

I have spent a huge portion of my life in front of computer screens.

Success!

My Friday Obsession 3/29

I can’t get enough of the Milk Carton Kids. The guitar sound is just spellbinding, as are their tight vocal harmonies.

The First Customer

It’s you.

You are also the first reviewer of your work. Because if you release it to the world, you are in fact saying, “I recommend that you listen to this. Read this. Watch this. Buy this.”

The good news is that this means you create the work for yourself. And then you trust that the world needs your point of view. In fact, that gets to the fundamental audacity of creative work. You must believe that what you’re inventing is necessary.

That’s why—when it gets really tough to keep going—you have to dig deeper. Because if you’re going to do it, it has to matter to you.

 

The Cycles of the Mood

Some days nothing seems to matter. The project has no energy behind it. The news on TV seems like noise with no significance. The book on your nightstand has nothing to offer. That big goal—weight loss, saving up for a down payment on a house, going on that trip, getting published, booking that next gig, starting a business, getting married, whatever—has lost its gravity, its ability to pull you toward it.

You recognize the feeling. You’re even aware that it’s a passing thing, a phase, a momentary mood. And yet, the best you can manage is to lift the remote control and fire up the next episode of That 70′s Show on Netflix.

I’m not a mental health expert. I can’t diagnose or treat depression. Maybe that’s what it is, maybe it isn’t.

But do you know what won’t help?

Blaming yourself. Berating yourself. Hating yourself.

I’m an advocate for productivity, but there is a time to create and there is a time to take in. Honor the cycles of mood; rest when you need to; gather your energy; recharge.

 

The Fallacy of the Cinderella Strategy

For a short period in my life, I was an expert on Disney Princess Movies, having absorbed them through osmosis as they played on infinite repeat in our living room TV.

My daughter is nine now, so the princess phase is a few years behind us. The Little Mermaid was her favorite, followed by Cinderella. Pocahontas (whom she called Pocawanda for a while) and Mulan were tied for third.

I got to thinking recently about what the message of these movies is, and I’ve come to the conclusion that Cinderella (my favorite), is probably the most misleading of the bunch.

A key tenet of Princess Philosophy is to believe in your dreams. The classic opening song from Cinderella,”A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes”, instructs us:

No matter how your heart is grieving

If you keep on believing

The dream that you wish will come true

As much as I love the melody of that song, I can’t really accept the wisdom of the lyrics, which outline what I think of as the Cinderella Strategy.

After all, I believe I can write a great story, but the belief alone doesn’t get it written.

But even worse is the content of her dreams, which is to attend the ball and get her hooks into the Prince by virtue of her good looks and her inner princessly qualities.

Sure, the movie was of its time, and it has many fun songs and sequences. I’m particularly fond of the cat, Lucifer. But for my daughter, the newest Disney Princess is a better model.

Yes, the answer always has been and always will be found in the Star Wars universe:

Princess Leia

There is Running in the Dog

Stay with me. I’m going to talk about creativity in a second.

My dog Lucky is just over one year old. That means he’s full grown and in the prime of his health and vitality.

In the mornings, he overflows with energy. And he knows our routine: get kid ready for school, eat breakfast, make bed, and on and on. And we are NEVER fast enough. Because once my daughter and I leave the house, he knows that my wife is going to take him outside to play frisbee.

I swear his feet barely touch the ground when it’s time to play frisbee.

There is running in the dog and it has to come out. Otherwise, he’s going to become destructive and rude.

Your art is like that. It is in you and it has to come out. And if you keep it inside you, that energy will manifest itself as any number of negative behaviors.

And you know this.