Ira Glass on Being a Newbie

It sucks being a total beginner, starting something new and having high expectations that you can’t meet. On the other hand being inexperienced at something is the perfect excuse to experiment and take risks without major consequences.

Ira gives some down to earth (and not very commonly heard) advice for the new artist/writer:

“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 still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.” —Ira Glass

I like Ira’s honesty and directness. Here is the full animated quote regarding beginners: