a word on blogging (and blog jealousy)

i have always been a blog reader. and i really love blogs; i love everything about them. and some people... well, they're just so talented!

sometimes i wish i was a better blogger. i wish i could find enough time to just sit down and write. or maybe not - actually, i wish it would all come so freaking naturally to me that i wouldn't even have to find the time to update this blog more regularly. it would be just another daily routine like taking a bath or brushing your teeth.

the thing is i'm almost never completely satisfied with what i write. i guess i have always been so overly judgmental about my own work (and everyone else's work as well, but especially my own) that i end up discarding a whole lot of great ideas because they might not be good enough.

i am the only reason i haven't enjoyed blogging in a very long time.

if every time i had an idea for a post, i would just sit down and share it, i would probably be one of the most active bloggers in the blogosphere. during these past three months, i must have thought about a hundred million things to say. but i was always tired (blame it on the pregnancy!) and, to be honest, i didn't feel creative enough to even log in and start writing.

i have been comparing my non-existing blogging skills to those of the superb.loggers out there and it is so frustrating... i know i probably shouldn't do that, but it's pretty damn hard not to! talk about blog jealousy!

yet, i bumped into an amazing quote by ira glass this morning.

it made my day.

“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. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
― Ira Glass