A glaring mistake reminds me to slow down, pay attention, and notice my surroundings, because those details inform my art.
I also take cues from several of Season Two’s guests. Check them out:
Transcript
Tricia: [00:00:18] Last week I sent an email to my mailing list and after I sent it out, I discovered I’d made a mistake, a glaring one, actually. And I wondered how the heck did I miss that? I proofread that email a bunch of times. And yet there it was: two past tense verbs having no business being in the same sentence. [00:00:34][16.6]
Tricia: [00:00:34] Now, some mistakes are good and interesting and necessary, like when you’re making something in your studio and the paint goes in a direction you didn’t intend, and it actually turns out way better than you could have hoped. The kind of mistakes that you make because you’re taking risks and breaking rules. Those are fantastic mistakes to make. But this wasn’t one of those mistakes. This mistake happened because I was rushing, going too fast, not paying attention. [00:00:58][23.7]
Tricia: [00:00:58] We’re about to be launched into the season of rushing. In fact, it’s already started. I’ve heard Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree at least 20 times. And during this time I have to make sure that the urgent doesn’t get in the way of the important. And one of the things that’s important to me is to slow down and pay attention, to notice what’s around me, because those details will inform my art. Several of my guests in Season Two talked about the importance of paying attention. Steve Young paid attention to the odd albums he kept uncovering in old record bins and in the process discovered the world of industrial musicals. Shannon Cason pays attention to the mundane details of his life, puts them in his stories, and ends up making them so real and compelling, you just have to listen. David Crabb pays attention to the outliers, the kookiest bauble in the room, as he likes to say, and turns them into characters he brings alive on stage. Noticing, paying attention, is key to their creative process. So in this season of rushing, I hope you’ll join me in slowing down and paying attention. If I do that, I hope I’ll stop making careless mistakes and make some good art instead. [00:02:07][68.9]
Tricia: [00:02:07] If you want to jumpstart your creative courage, go back and listen to Seasons One and Two of the podcast. Learn more about No Time to Be Timid at my website triciaroseburt.com. And make sure to follow me on social media @triciaroseburt. No time to be Timid is sponsored by Interabang Books, a Dallas-based independent bookstore, which was named one of the top five bookstores in the country. They have a fabulous curated online collection. Check them out at interabangbooks.com. That’s interabangbooks.com. No Time to Be Timid is written and produced by me, Tricia Rose Burt. Our episodes are produced and scored by Adam Arnone of Echo Finch. And our theme music is Twists and Turns by the Paul Dunlea Group. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the show, spread the word, and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. No Time to Be Timid is a presentation of I Will Be Good Productions. [00:02:07][0.0]