It is better to have written something poorly than to have not written anything at all.
With the current popularity of LLMs and generative AI in general, it can seem daunting to start writing or drawing or any other artisitic endeavour. I sometimes get the nagging feeling that an AI would be able to do it better and with much less effort spent. This is a little motivational post to dispel that feeling.
Some people say that to create something worthwhile, the creative process must take a long time. It requires more than just a spark of inspiration - that spark is the starting point. It must be built upon to turn it into something beautiful. Maybe that involves exploring myriad tangents as you wander through the forest of all knowledge. Perhaps that involves finding the right people to help you execute the techinques that you want to use. Maybe it involves realizing that you're on the wrong path, and starting over with a better understanding of where you want to go. The idea should be expanded to its fullest until it's a sprawling web of the things you've learned along the way, which then gets condensed into its very essence, the fat ruthlessly trimmed away until what's left is the very core of the idea, crystalized into a single work.
Perhaps that's true for some creative endeavours.
But it doesn't have to be true for all of them.
If fear of finishing a project is preventing you from starting, if you know you have unfinished projects languishing that will never see the light of day, if you're concerned that an AI would do it in a fraction of the time, just sit down and do it. Start a project that you can finish in one sitting, and commit to not touching it again after you stand up.
And don't let the existence of more talented people or AI models deter you. Does Lasha Talakhadze's world-record weight lifting prevent you from going to the gym? It shouldn't. You might go the gym every day for a year and never reach that physique. But even so, you will be better off than if you had sat on the couch for a year watching TV. Most people will never reach his level of strength even if they try hard. That's just life. But recognize that being the best of the best is not the only worthwhile goal. Improving compared to where you are now leaves you better off than before, and that's worth celebrating.
So if you don't want to start a project because you know you won't want to call it finished until it's perfect, set some boundaries. One sitting is a great starting point. And when you reach that boundary, honour that promise to yourself. Say that it's done, and act like it. If you're unsatisfied and want to come back to it to finish whatever vision you had, commit to not touching it until you have finished a project. Perhaps the result will be good, perhaps it won't be. But even if it is not up to your own standards, take satisfaction in the act of completion, and learn to embrace that feeling.
The process itself makes it worthwhile.