Being a human is about embracing contradiction.
A while back, I wrote about saving everything. No matter who bad the work is going, it’s worth putting in a folder instead of dumping your garbage can.
However, often when I’m writing, I’ll have an idea and think, “That’s good, I want to use it, but not here and not now. It’ll work better in something I’m going to write.”
This is a terrible habit. When you have an idea, use it instead of holding onto it. Implementing something in your work is better than saving it for a project you might not ever manifest.
A perfect example of this: last night, I was working on collages. I had this beautiful black and white background I’d been saving for a long time. Part of me wanted to keep saving it, and another part of me said, “If you’re not going to use it now, then when? What else are you really saving this for?”
Asking that question was enough to make me pick up the X-acto knife and get to work. Ultimately, the finished product is so much better than an abstract idea of something I might make someday.
Don’t keep an idea for a rainy day. Use it now. Empty yourself all the way out and more ideas will come.
joshua chamberlain 