Merlin Mann on the creative process

“Not to go all philosophical, but I really believe that there’s a part of you that really

wants to go in this one direction to make cool stuff, and there’s another part of you that’s

terrified at how bad you’re going to be at it, and that people are going to see you

suck. And nobody likes being seen sucking. And it’s natural to observe that other people

seem to be great from the second they start typing. [But in actuality,] they’ve just gotten

really good at starting, and they’ve gotten really good at not minding that they suck. And

if you don’t believe that, ask anybody who writes professionally, or who does anything over

and over and over again. The only difference is that they’ve gotten really OK with the fact

that they suck sometimes.

–Merlin”Not to go all philosophical, but I really believe that there’s a part of you that really wants to go in this one direction to make cool stuff, and there’s another part of you that’s terrified at how bad you’re going to be at it, and that people are going to see you suck. And nobody likes being seen sucking. And it’s natural to observe that other people seem to be great from the second they start typing. [But in actuality,] they’ve just gotten really good at starting, and they’ve gotten really good at not minding that they suck. And if you don’t believe that, ask anybody who writes professionally, or who does anything over and over and over again. The only difference is that they’ve gotten really OK with the fact that they suck sometimes.” Mann, speaking about the creative process, at Maximum Fun’s 2009 MaxFunCon

“Not to go all philosophical, but I really believe that there’s a part of you that really wants to go in this one direction to make cool stuff, and there’s another part of you that’s terrified at how bad you’re going to be at it, and that people are going to see you suck. And nobody likes being seen sucking. And it’s natural to observe that other people seem to be great from the second they start typing. [But really,] they’ve just gotten really good at starting, and they’ve gotten really good at not minding that they suck.

And if you don’t believe that, ask anybody who writes professionally, or who does anything over and over and over again. The only difference is that they’ve gotten really OK with the fact that they suck sometimes.”

–Merlin Mann, speaking about the creative process, at Maximum Fun’s 2009 MaxFunCon

Click here to listen to access Merlin’s MaxFunCon lecture, on BoingBoing.

Philly’s Newest Mag Is All About Beer

Appropriately enough, Neil Harner and Scott Willey were enjoying a few pints of ale at Earth Bread + Brewery, an environmentally-minded brewpub that opened in Philly’s Mt. Airy neighborhood last year, when they came up with the idea to start their own magazine about the city’s craft beer community. To some, that may sound like a perfect plan for entrepreneurial suicide, especially considering the unfortunate fact that the publishing industry seems to be in a never-ending free fall these days. But as far as Harner and Willey are concerned, the timing of Philly Beer Scene, as their bi-monthly magazine is known, couldn’t have been better. After all, microbrews and the bars that serve them have certainly exploded in popularity throughout the Philadelphia region over the past few years, and the whole country seems to have taken notice. Our sudden appreciation for high-caliber beer, in fact, has been documented everywhere from the Sunday New York Times to USA Today to Imbibe, a small Portland-based magazine of “liquid culture.”

And yet according to Harner, who co-owns a design and marketing firm in Lower Bucks County called Inverse Paradox, none of the beer publications that can be picked up for free in bars across the country are successfully speaking to the newer and younger generation of craft beer enthusiasts. “Don’t misquote me on this one,” he insisted, during a recent telephone interview. “When it comes to the other beer publications – Ale Street News, Mid-Atlantic Brewing News, Beer Advocate — we personally love those [publications]. But if you look at our magazine in comparison to the others out there, it’s a little more fun.”

Ultimately, of course, it will be the readers and advertisers of Philly Beer Scene who decide how fun it actually is. You can decide for yourself by picking up a free copy of the premiere issue at most of the better bars and brewpubs throughout the city and surrounding suburbs. Check out the magazine online at beerscenemag.com, where you’ll find information about the June 28 launch party at World Café Live.

This article was originally published on PhillyNow, Philadelphia Weekly’s news and opinion blog.

Next American City launch party, Wed June 17

I generally don’t post about new work I’ve had published until the work in question is actually available on the newsstand, but because Next American City is hosting a rather unusual launch party for its upcoming issue 23, I figured it would be alright to break from tradition just this once. I’ll keep the solipsistic part brief: In issue 23, I have a relatively short front-of-the-book piece in the magazine’s Buzz department. It’s about a new rails-to-trails style bike path in Detroit, and it was developed, of course, as part of the long and ongoing effort to revitalize the city.

By the way, if you haven’t seen Next American City in awhile (it can sometimes be tough to find), issue 23 is the one you’ll want to come back for. According to what I heard at the last editorial meeting for freelancers and contributing writers, this will be the magazine’s very first perfect-bound issue. It’s also going to be a full eight pages thicker, and I believe those extra eight pages are being used to introduce some sort of creative or experimental new feature.

At any rate, here’s the information for the launch party. The admission price gets you your choice of a one-year subscription to the magazine, or a Next American City T-shirt. How can you not?

Next American City is throwing a party at The Royal Theater, one of Philadelphia’s historical and architectural landmarks, and you are invited! We’ll even provide the hard hats! Come join us as we celebrate the launch of Issue 23 with food, drinks and great conversation. Publisher and editor-in-chief Diana Lind will re-cap highlights from the issue, which is packed with features including a profile of Newark’s Mayor Cory Booker, an examination of air quality in American cities, and a debate about the value of convention centers. Interviews with a young environmental justice activist, a forward-thinking web entrepreneur, and an urban theorist round out the issue.

JUNE 17, 5:30-7:30 PM
ROYAL THEATER
1524 South Street, Philadelphia, PA

Admission is free for subscribers. Admission for non-subscribers is $15 in advance or $20 at the door and includes a one-year subscription to the magazine and free entry to all NAC events.