I love this little chat with This American Life's Ira Glass on the importance of persevering in being creative. I think he articulates a wall we all hit a lot, particularly when we start out, when our ambitions are so much greater than our current skill set. He explains that there's a certain entropy that moves all of our efforts towards crap, and that only by being ruthless in self-editing and insisting on trying some more can we be good. It's not about talent so much as it's about being willing to be beaten and to work hard. Failure creates quality. It sounds painful but it's infinitely rewarding. Check him out.
(Thanks,Laura for reminding us about this video)