I love everything about this one today, Jeff! Nice!! Now admittedly, I do love horror with a slice of violence in my books and films, but it gives me the opportunity to flex my imagination muscles, explore the dark corners of my subconscious, and suck up the cobwebs that collect there. It kinda connects with the Christianity thing you mentioned but opposite: it’s perfectly ok to not be a sunshiny Pollyanna goodie two shoes… I’m allowed to think about evil too! (PS I was totally obsessed with Steven Pressfield when I was depressed and needed a drill sergeant to get me out of my hole. It worked! But then I didn’t need that violence anymore. Take what you need, when you need it, and then when you’re different, kill it 😈)
Thanks, Katie. I'm the same. So much of the stuff I read, watch and listen to is dark and violent. The last book I finished was Layer Cake. My favourite film franchise is John Wick. My all-time no.1 artist on Spotify is Poppy. When done in a healthy way, there's something cleansing about embracing darkness. Maybe that's why metalheads, on the whole, are some of the nicest and gentlest people you meet. But I think when violence towards yourself and/or your collaborators enters the creation process it adds nothing of value. Was Hemingway a better writer because he drank himself to death? I doubt it.
And that's why Big Magic is SUCH a great book! She proves that you don't need to torture yourself to be creative! I remember the switch in my brain when I went from my Steven Pressfield Era to my Elizabeth Gilbert Era. I became SO much nicer to myself!
I love everything about this one today, Jeff! Nice!! Now admittedly, I do love horror with a slice of violence in my books and films, but it gives me the opportunity to flex my imagination muscles, explore the dark corners of my subconscious, and suck up the cobwebs that collect there. It kinda connects with the Christianity thing you mentioned but opposite: it’s perfectly ok to not be a sunshiny Pollyanna goodie two shoes… I’m allowed to think about evil too! (PS I was totally obsessed with Steven Pressfield when I was depressed and needed a drill sergeant to get me out of my hole. It worked! But then I didn’t need that violence anymore. Take what you need, when you need it, and then when you’re different, kill it 😈)
Thanks, Katie. I'm the same. So much of the stuff I read, watch and listen to is dark and violent. The last book I finished was Layer Cake. My favourite film franchise is John Wick. My all-time no.1 artist on Spotify is Poppy. When done in a healthy way, there's something cleansing about embracing darkness. Maybe that's why metalheads, on the whole, are some of the nicest and gentlest people you meet. But I think when violence towards yourself and/or your collaborators enters the creation process it adds nothing of value. Was Hemingway a better writer because he drank himself to death? I doubt it.
And that's why Big Magic is SUCH a great book! She proves that you don't need to torture yourself to be creative! I remember the switch in my brain when I went from my Steven Pressfield Era to my Elizabeth Gilbert Era. I became SO much nicer to myself!
Meanwhile, I need more Poppy in my life!
AND Mary J’s performance is out of this world … yes, the irony that you have to bring the heat to get off the burner.