Irons In The Fire
And other phrases that are kind of annoying
A lot of the irons I had in the fire in the last couple months have been taken out of the fire in the last couple weeks. I’m learning it’s the sort of you thing you have to come to expect when you’re freelancing and auditioning and putting yourself out there in general. I consult for reality TV. I do stand up comedy. I pitch things. I pitch myself. I write stuff. I host stuff. I hear “no” a lot.
No doesn’t always sound like “no.” Here’s what it sounds like:
“This isn’t right for us.”
“We’re putting this on hold for a bit.”
“We’ll keep in touch!”
Or, an actual note I got about a show I recently pitched to a network:
“Tugboats are a kiss of death.”
The show wasn’t even about tugboats!!
It’s okay, because I have a more irons in the fire.
I hear that metaphor a lot in reality TV, especially in Development. “We have a few irons in the fire.” It’s one of those industry-speak types of phrases that gains popularity then starts making it rounds. Phrases like: “In our wheelhouse,” that everyody says and you start to cringe every time you hear it parroted. You’re like, ugh what does that even mean and when can we come up with something new?
But having a few irons in the fire, when you’re in development, is how it has to work.
It’s a good thing that I understand how irons in the fire literally work since I’ve done a bit of iron forging myself. I spent a summer in college in Finland for a sculture study abroad trip. I went with my friend Kelly O’Brien who is actually a legit sculptor and artist. Meanwhile, when I was there I made an abstract* iron beehive.
(Note* I said it was abstract only because I’m not a very good scultpor. I had no idea what I was doing, but I got to wear cool leather stuff.)
But my forging iron didn’t stop there, since a few years ago I picked back up where I left off and went to a birthday party at an iron forge where we made our own letter openers.
My friend Whitney calls these my, “Millennial Artisanal Birthday Parties.” It’s true. I’ve been to mozzarella cheese making birthday parties. Flower arrangment parties. Beekeeping birthday parties*. You name it. I’ve done all that kitsch.
(Note* I made the beekeeping one up but I promise there have been some weird ones. )
Even though at first it seemed like all I got out of my study abroad trip and my artisal birthday parties was a new knowledge of Finnish drinking games and my own sweet hand crafted weapon, I realized that I really did learn a lot about understanding process when it comes to your craft.
A glowing hot iron in the fire is ready to be molded, shaped, and turned into something. That’s why you, “Strike when the iron is hot.” But if you take the iron out to strike and you’re not ready to strike, it cools down. It’s no longer malleable.
It takes longer to heat up an iron than it does to cool down. So you need to have a few back ups. You need to keep plenty of irons in and keep stoking the fire. And maybe, soon, one will be hot enough when you’re ready to strike.
See? Good thing I spent a summer eating reindeer hotdogs in Finland. Worth every euro.
By the way, when I told my dad I wanted to take out another student loan so that I could study abroad he said, “Study a broad? What do you have to go all the way to Europe for? You can just study your mother.” Cool cool cool, dad.
Is there a metaphor or figure of speech that might seem trite but sticks with you when it comes to your creative process? A sticky note on your wall you like? An Etsy-ordered cross-stich phrase on your gallery wall? Tell me, tell me!
