OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
We all need mentors. People who teach us what we need to know, or remind us of things we have buried deep.
His latest book, The Icarus Deception was created as the result of a Kickstarter campaign, which I (proudly) helped to fund as one of his Tribe. Here are some of the things I have learned in just 24 hours of its arriving on my doorstep.
The Icarus Deception: Make Great Art
Many of the corners of the book are turned over already and I have pages of notes in my Moleskine, but here are just a few of the insights I found useful. I'm not going to add my commentary, I'll leave it to you to interpret, but I'd love to hear your reactions in the comments.
- “Artists are people who make art. Art is not a gene or a specific talent … Art is the unique work of a human being, work that touches another … Art is who we are and what we do and what we need. Art isn't a result; it's a journey. The challenge of our time is to find a journey worthy of your heart and your soul.“
- “Creating art is a habit, one that we practice daily or hourly until we get good at it … Art isn't about the rush of victory that comes from being picked. Nor does it involve compliance. Art in the post-industrial age is a lifelong habit, a stepwise process that incrementally allows us to create more art.”
- “Doing a good job for a fair price is no longer sufficient to guarantee success. Good work is easier to find than ever before. What matters now: Trust, Permission, Remarkability, Leadership, Stories that spread, Humanity: connection, compassion and humility.”
- “Our cultural instinct is to wait to get picked. To seek out the permission, authority and safety that come from a publisher … who says, “I pick you.” Once you reject that impulse and realize that no one is going to select you … then you can actually get to work … No one is going to pick you. Pick yourself.“
- “The joy of art is particularly sweet … because it carries with it the threat of rejection, of failure, and of missed connections. It's precisely the high-wire act of “this might not work” that makes original art worth doing.”
This book is useful for writers, but I would also urge parents to read it in order to understand the world your children are growing up in.
“The industrial age, the one that established our schooling, our workday, our economy, and our expectations, is dying. It's dying faster than most of us expected, and it's causing plenty of pain, indecision and fear as it goes.”
The industrial world is disappearing. The old world of standardized exams, tick-box education and guaranteed jobs won't be there for much longer, and people need to be creative to survive the future. But more than that, life's too short to spend it doing something that isn't rewarding. So aim to thrive and not just survive.
I spent 13 years as an IT consultant, a miserable cubicle worker, rewarding myself with sugar and alcohol in order to make it through each day. In September 2011, I finally broke out of that old life, and I couldn't be happier. Sure, I have less money now, fewer trappings of (so-called) worldly success, but I am making my art, and this feels like real life.
I know some of you are struggling around the same issues, so as you move into 2013, I would recommend reading The Icarus Deception for some inspiration.
Surprise and delight your fans. The joy of physical product.
It included an over-sized, gorgeous print book of the best of Seth's blog posts, amazingly formatted and a collector's item. 10 copies of Icarus Deception (you can win one by adding a comment below), 2 copies of ‘V is for Vulnerable', an awesomely illustrated adult picture book on art and taking risks, an artisan, ceramic mug, all kinds of little extra things and I even cut up the box for the poster to stick on my wall (top left).
I now read 99% on my Kindle and mobile apps, so I am a confirmed ebook junkie and hardly ever buy print anymore. Part of the reason is that I had to leave 2000 books behind when I moved from Australia and now I live in a shoebox flat in London!
It also makes me far more interested in doing print at some point in the future, something I have sworn off for now as too time-consuming and potentially rights I want to sell.
But I am considering doing some limited edition, hand-made books, with pages of my own diaries in at some point. Artisanal book-binding interests me far more than mass-market paperbacks.
The book has re-fired my passion for creating art, and also brought up some dilemmas for me in terms of what I want to pursue in 2013. When I have something coherent to share, I'll let you know what I mean!
I highly recommend you read The Icarus Deception and start your 2013 with some inspiration and passion behind your art.
For now, I will leave you to be inspired!
Do you consider yourself an artist? What is stopping you from creating?
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1 2 3 … 5 Next »This post serves as further confirmation of a fact that I have been coming to accept about myself: I am an artist in every sense of the word. I have spent a lifetime TRYING to be the person I thought I was expected to be instead of fully being the person that I am, and more importantly, the person I am meant to become. The more I tap into the truth of myself as a writer, the clearer my destiny becomes and the more content I become with my journey thus far.
I am looking forward to reading "The Icarus Deception," whether I am fortunate enough to win a copy here or not. As always, thank you, Joanna, for the wonderful information you share. From The Innovative Pen to The Creative Penn, I am grateful that our paths have crossed.
Thanks Antoinette - and yes, it's great to keep searching inside ourselves for the truth of who we are. I am shifting direction as well at the moment.
Antoinette, my sister! :) I came out of the womb writing but have just published my first book and writing is where I want to be. I am an artist! I am an author! Will be getting serious on my second one in January with several others at least within me, just waiting to be born. :)
Thank you, Joanna for this post and recommendation. I shall have to check it out, even if I don't win.
God bless, Anne Marie :)
"No one is going to pick you. Pick yourself." - there's something extremely powerful in this. I guess you can see it from both sides, that necessity of picking yourself, but if you see it as powerful, as a chance, amazing things can happen.
It shows that this book inspired and touched you. :)
I still struggle with calling myself an artist. There's that voice in my head that's telling me not to be too full of myself, not to be corny, or presumptuous. But I do create and I want to create, so I guess at some point I may get used to be just that. An artist.
I think we have to claim these words in order to make them real Julee. I couldn't say "I am creative" out loud for many years. I had to start by saying it in my head, and then whispering it - now I am loud and proud and called this site after the word because it was such a milestone for me!
I enjoyed reading this article. It is a gentle reminder to remind myself that I am an artist. I claim that title boldly now.
Excellent Regena - I need to get some badges made or something!
'guaranteed jobs won’t be there for much longer, and people need to be creative to survive the future. But more than that, life’s too short to spend it doing something that isn’t rewarding.' - This quote really speaks to me, as I was made redundant two years ago from my job as a journalist for a regional paper and you'd be surprised the amount of people who think getting back into work is that easy. It also took me getting back into full time non-creative work to realise I then had the right mental energy to start my novel. Your blog has been invaluable to me on this journey. Thank you.
I'm so glad you've found a community here Lucy, and I love that we can support each other on the journey. All the best with your novel.
"The industrial world is disappearing. The old world of standardized exams, tick-box education and guaranteed jobs won’t be there for much longer, and people need to be creative to survive the future. But more than that, life’s too short to spend it doing something that isn’t rewarding. So aim to thrive and not just survive."
LOVE this! I have felt this shift over the last decade and it's picking up speed. And now I'm working to be comfortable calling myself a writer and an artist - it's an exciting time.
I've followed Seth for a couple years and will definitely be reading this book as soon as possible, thanks for whetting my appetite. And I'm very glad to have run across you online as well, Joanna!
Thanks Pam - I too have felt the shift in myself, and I am so passionate about trying to tell parents of my generation (aged mid 30s right now). So many of them are trying to get their kids into X school in order to get specific grades and test scores, but it seems that we should be focusing more on creativity.
I love the advice "Pick yourself."
I. Struggle with creativity sometimes and considering myself an artist... But then the only time I feel truly alive is when I am creating!
Hi Jeannie - how lovely to see you here! It's been a while :)
"the only time I feel truly alive is when I am creating" - you're clearly an artist! Hoorah!
"Pick yourself." There was a time when we all had excuses - publishing was a long and complicated process with gatekeepers at every step of the process: agents, publishers, bookstores. Today we can have an idea, however bold and crazy, execute it, and have it in people's hand the same day thanks to electronic publishing. Now the only gatekeeper standing in the way is ourselves, with our hang-ups, fears, and foibles.
It's time to take a deep breath, concentrate on the process and not the results, and leap.
"Leap and the net will appear."
Kirk
"concentrate on the process and not the results" - this is what I need to do every day, and what I often fail to do :) But in 2013, I am becoming more of an artist - and glad to know you're on the journey too Kirk!
Don't know if you've seen this article, but it's a fascinating look into the true value of the gatekeepers - namely publishers - and what they bring (or don't bring) to the party:
http://www.stevenpressfield.com/2012/12/the-story-behind-the-random-house-gives-5000-bonuses-story/
My whole life, I've considered myself a writer, but lately my output has been minimal at best. And that begs the question: What exactly is a writer who doesn't write?
I've defined myself by that word: Writer. And now I am not writing, not creating.
So what is a writer who does not write? An empty shell; the husk of a man filled with nothingness. At least that is the way it feels to me.
In 2013, I intend to fill myself up again so that I can fill the pages up again. I don't want to feel this emptiness any longer. I want to fill myself up with good words and so that I can in turn fill the pages with even better words.
I don't want to be any empty husk of a man any longer.
Walt Nickell
Walt - I feel for you - I absolutely do - but it sounds like you are heading in the right direction
a) understand why you feel the way you do - you can identified your unease, well done :)
b) know that 'resistance' can be overcome by your decision to write every day, or every few days, but certainly several times a week (read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield)
c) fill up your creative well in order to feel more creative - so I go on research trips (living in London is fantastic for this but you can do it anywhere); read a lot of non-fiction and pick up ideas - I read 10 books on the Ark of the Covenant as research for Exodus, my latest novel as well as books on quantum physics, palimpsests and other things. I am currently researching anatomy and dissection for the next book. I get a LOT of inspiration from non-fiction.
d) Allow yourself to write a load of crap! ("shitty first drafts" - see Anne Lamott - Bird by Bird, brilliant book). Then you can clean it up in the editing phase.
Hang in there Walt - and just get writing :)
Oddly, I have no trouble identifying myself as a writer, but stumble a bit with the label of artist, even though I will readily argue that writing is art. Well, some writing is art. Some is more entertainment than art. It's scary to set out to create art, but fun to entertain.
Thanks for the thoughtful post. If you are not familiar with The Griffin and Sabin trilogy written by Nick Bantock, you might enjoy it. It was my introduction to a book as a piece of visual art.
Entertainment can still be art, Dava - I absolutely write my fiction to entertain, but I do consider myself an artist - someone who creates something unique, that can touch other people.
Pick me! Pick me! :)