Art is given value through the artist’s commitment—the commitment to finishing and polishing a piece so that it’s fit for public consumption.
Good ideas and premises are infinitely prevalent. They’re given value by understanding that they’re iterated with the audience in mind, and not as self-serving reflections of the artist’s “genius.”
Dirty Sci-Fi Buddha 
the work involved in creating a piece of art is never done. I have looked and paintings and writings I was done with 20 years ago and itched to work on it more.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know! I gotta purposefully refrain from reading my old stuff otherwise I’ll fall into the endless spiral of trying to perfect it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, that last sentence!!!! LOVE. One of the odd things about something being ready. As the ‘artist’ we never think it is. (cooking, that is usually ready when ‘done’) We go back and tinker and change and rework and the artistry is an evolving product. I have had to learn to keep my hands off of things when they are done. How does my work show change if I constantly change it as I grow? One of my favorite books (OK, another one) is set in days of older technology. The author has toyed with upgrading it to modern times, but I am so glad he hasn’t. It would completely spoil the story. I’m very glad some of the greats you find in a museum didn’t keep working on their masterpieces. And some of the other art I’ve seen/read? Well, this particular audience was not ready for that style of genius!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly. It’s a natural instinct we should learn when to entertain and when to guard against. George Lucas is a pretty good example of what not to do during his later years
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ouch. I snorted and hurt myself!!! Lucas…yeah. (phew, now am giggling.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Did you see the scene (in the second prequel I think) where anakin and padme are tumbling through the field of flowers and laughing like robots with the cheesy music in the background??? BLEEEHHH
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is a reason those 3 movies should never have been made..
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know right???
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this. I still wish I’d edited my book some more before self-publishing…lesson learned! Art takes way more commitment than people give credit for.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think there will always be feelings like “if I did more…this would be better” kind of like hindsight. But don’t think what you have done isn’t enough, getting your ideas out there is so important. Rock on self-publisher 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Exactly! Finishing a project is an art in and of itself. Rock on as well, 409! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m in the middle of the editing process myself and it’s seriously not easy lol 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
No it’s not, and the frustrating thing is it doesn’t get better the more you stare at your manuscript. I’d like to be able to just punch it out all at once, but I find that I start fooling myself as to what’s good and what’s not if I spend too much time staring at my stuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree! Maintaining the balance is a struggle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much! It was very stressful, haha. But I’m glad I did it!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Awesome 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yeah I like to remind people who ask for advice on writing that you will probably have to work WAY harder at it than a regular job
LikeLiked by 1 person
And yeah, it’s true. Writing takes such a long time. It’s kind of mind blowing how much work it can be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ironic that the barrier to entry is so low, right? Anyone can write and publish, but it takes A LOT of work to make it worthy of being considered entertaining enough to actually sell
LikeLiked by 1 person
True. It takes so much work to get it published. It’s very daunting. Just that alone makes writing one of the most difficult jobs around. Same with anything in the arts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Boils down to editing editing editing in my opinion. Harry Potter could be boiled down to, “Ordinary boy learns magic and saves the world.” But it’s the editing and fleshing it out that makes it a hugely popular franchise
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s very true. Most books need the editing, world building, and writing style to become popular. That’s why I wish I could edit my book one more time, haha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Artist commitment = dedication and love, not just technical skill. Great post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m yet to publish a book. Rather it is a very small manuscript at this stage. I have, however, written my 100 pages long Master’s Thesis some years ago. It took time. A lot of time. What I learned? It was good enough (magna cum laude approbatur). I stressed far too much about it. My advice after 4 years of mostly writing at work: just write and do some editing, but not too much!
Thank you for following me, DirtySciFiBuddha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank You Back! Yes, there is a certain point in editing where I’m wracking my brain over minute word choices that don’t affect the overall flow of the story. That’s when I deem my manuscript as publishable. Of course, as I develop as a writer, I’ll look at it a few months later and have to resist using my new skills to revamp the whole thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Turd polishing is the curse of the creative mind. Oh no, I should have written/played/painted/drawn a little more, a little less, a little…Every craftsperson knows where their clams are. Having the sense to leave yesterday alone is an art in itself. But wouldn’t that mix from 1991 sound stellar pumped through the latest rev of Ozone? Ewwwmagawd I did over-use ellipses…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not just an art, but teeth-grinding discipline! Han shot first, not Greedo, haha!
LikeLike
I don’t understand, are we to circumvent central ideas or inspiration just because it’s what the people want??.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d say there’s two ways to go on this, and in either case, you’re trying to tap a universal resonance. You can either consider people’s needs and wants to the point where it elevates your work into a universally powerful work, or you can go so deep into yourself that you start operating from the piece of you that is connected to other people and shares a commonality with them. Either way, I feel like the best works have a depth of meaning to them that resonates across multiple viewpoints.
LikeLike
True. I understand this angle. I think it just helps that you’re indie
LikeLiked by 1 person