Subscribe » Issue #39, May-Jun 2012 Mag Cover
Idealog—in the ideas business

Creativity takes time, and work – Ira Glass

Malcolm Gladwell reckons it takes 10,000 hours to master, well, anything. And according to US broadcaster Ira Glass, creativity, too, takes time to hone.

"Most everybody I know who does interesting creative work went through a phase of years where they had really good taste and they could tell what they were making wasn't as good as they wanted it to be ... Everybody goes through that ... The most important possible thing you can do is do a lot of work. Do a huge volume of work." 


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I'm a senior copywriter at GrabOne and this quote is up on our wall. It's cold, hard truth. There's no way around it - to be a good writer you have to write, a lot, and don't stop even when you think you're rubbish. This goes for anyone creative. Because the truth is, you probably are a bit rubbish at first, but you're not going to get better if you give up. Practice, practice, practice, it's our motto here. It's the only way, and only those of us who persevere will succeed.


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