“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 awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
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“Eventually we all have to accept full and total responsibility for our actions, everything we have done, and have not done. ”
― Requiem for a Dream
― Requiem for a Dream
“If we are worried about the future, then we must look today at the upbringing of children.”
― Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes
― Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes
“The only parts that really matter and take commitment in wedding vows are; worse, sickness and poorer. Better, richer and healthy is pretty easy to deal with.”
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“Reverence is an emotion that we can nurture in our very young children, respect is an attitude that we instill in our children as they become school-agers, and responsibility is an act that we inspire in our children as they grow through the middle years and become adolescents.”
― Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times
― Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times
The YA Book Club
— 21857 members
— last activity Jan 07, 2026 11:27AM
This is a book club for all those who love Young Adult books. We know you love to read, and so do we. We will have optional group reads each month. If ...more
Emily’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Emily’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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