A snippet from The Onion AV Club interview with Aaron McGruder on creating a daily comic strip (The Boondocks), and if it is still satisfying. I can relate to how he describes the work, why it is important, and that sometimes there is nothing worth saying, but there is still space to say something. Take note, bloggers. I am.
Here's the entire interview.
Aaron McGruder: Yeah, I think so. I think, ultimately, the problem with something like this is that you actually have so many more opportunities to say something than you actually have things worth saying. And then, as an artist who doesn't want to do bad work, gosh, how do you fill up all that space when you really don't have anything actually worthwhile to say? And that's what makes the job tough, because the fans get mad—"That's not funny," or "You've been sucking for several months now." And you go, "It's not my fault! I'm trying." When there's things worth talking about is when it gets fun again, and when the news is slow, or when there's just so many other responsibilities bearing down on me that I don't have the time to do it right, that's when it gets frustrating. As an artist, you just don't wanna put bad work out. So when you have to do it seven days a week, you're just gonna have some bad days and bad weeks and bad months and bad years. If I could just pick and choose which days I did it, that'd be great. [Laughs.]