Make More Art: My Year of Becoming Prolific

My year of becoming prolific was kind of like Steven Pressfield’s year of Turning Pro. It was in 2013.

I picked up freelance gigs wherever I could get them.

I wrote things I didn’t want to write. I wrote for publications I didn’t really care about. But it paid the bills and I paid my dues. I built my chops.

I learned to produce on a deadline, create on a schedule, ship consistently, and ship things that my friend, Alice, describes as just the right level of imperfect.

Sometimes you build your chops by paying your dues.

Bill Belichick paid his dues by logging game tape. So did Eric Spoelstra. Tom Brady paid his dues as the fourth string quarterback for the Patriots. The grunt work is a prerequisite for the glamour. Sometimes your dues are the foundation for your greatness.

Julien Smith told me he wrote 1000 words a day. He had one of the most popular blogs on the internet. So I started doing the same. I’ve never stopped since.

I wrote 1000 words a day when I was sober.

I wrote 1000 words when I was hungover.

I wrote 1000 words if I spent the previous night shitfaced drunk.