We've had endless discussions about "Do I write for my readers" or "Do I write for myself," blah blah blah. There's an excellent piece in the NYT today about Making It Small in Hollywood. Or Anywhere.
This passage caught my eye:
"I once heard an interview where Ron Howard said that he tests the rough cuts of his movies with a ton of audiences. He doesn't do it to be told what the movie's vision should be,* but to understand whether his vision is coming across. If not, he makes changes. Your vision is not being conveyed a majority of the time."
I know many of us have touched on this---CW, among others---but this time it jumped out at me. As did some other useful bits: skip the gatekeepers; do something else if [insert art] turns out not to be your thing; do your [art] and stop reading about it (including this article, the author added).
*We know some screenings are intended for exactly the opposite.
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