Sturgeon’s Law states that “90% of everything is crap”. Theodore Sturgeon, a sci-fi writer, originally said this about science fiction, but it seems to apply to, well, everything. I’ve got some thoughts on this.
Ninety-Percent Crap
If 90% of everything is crap, that means everything. People, art, writing, music… not everything is going to be “good”. Hell, just consider how much “garbage” works that creatives have to produce just to learn their trade.
While I agree with this, I have a bit more nuance to my views on “crap” than just “it’s crap”. Crap can be useful, and even enjoyable. It’s all relative. I think a lot of my earlier works suck, and still a lot of it does suck, but that doesn’t mean it’s unenjoyable. People still enjoy it! Things don’t have to be perfect or even “good” to be enjoyable!
Consider food. Fast food is pretty widely accepted to be awful for you, but it’s still delicious. People love the shit out of soda, too. Things may be unhealthy, but we still often enjoy them.
This saying, admittedly, can come off as rather cynical. Which is why I’ve been giving it a positive spin. Being cynical is often very off-putting and gets us nowhere.
This is in line with a post I have planned about giving constructive feedback. Some constructive criticism, or even just a little encouragement, can go a long way. Just because someone sucks at something doesn’t mean they deserve to be abused for it.
So yeah, if you’re a creative, get out there and start churning out some “crap”! The process can be fun and enjoyable, which is the whole point of being creative. Don’t worry about perfection, you’ll get to where you want to be, eventually.
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