For the past few days, I've been reading 'Show your Work !’ by Austin Kleon and loving it ever since I've begun. Those of you who haven't heard of this book, let me introduce you to this lovely creation.
Here’s a blurb from the book listed on Amazon (grab a copy here ➦: here)
“ In his New York Times bestseller Steal Like an Artist, Austin Kleon showed readers how to unlock their creativity by “stealing” from the community of other movers and shakers. Now, in an even more forward-thinking and necessary book, he shows how to take that critical next step on a creative journey—getting known.
Show Your Work! is about why generosity trumps genius. It’s about getting findable, about using the network instead of wasting time “networking.” It’s not self-promotion, it’s self-discovery—let others into your process, then let them steal from you. Filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, Show Your Work! offers ten transformative rules for being open, generous, brave, productive. ”
Having stumbled upon this book while I myself was looking for motivation to get creative and share my ideas in digital media, I can't stress enough about how original and eye-opening the content of this book is.
Today, I’ll share some great excerpts from this book and also give my thoughts on them. I’ve selected these after many screenings, and hope you can catch hold of some motivation yourself by reading my interpretations.
“ Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ”
Though simple, this sentence captures so many emotions, worries, insecurities, and in all, the fear of expression. I believe that each of us have something to offer to the world, no matter how trivial may that be. Agreeably, finding and picking up that talent may be not so easy as it sounds when put to words. Most of the time it’s really daunting to step forward and harness that talent, and after that, let others find you in the limelight of that talent. But according to Longfellow, if we really unconditionally express ourselves without any restrictions, and then someone in this vast globe is bound to appreciate it. After all, we have been judging our capabilities based on our own opinions all this time, and letting others see the same with their own set of judgements may be special. Special because it might be better than what the person had expected.
“ Find a scenius, pay attention to what others are sharing, and then start taking notes of what they’re not sharing. Be on the lookout for voids that you can fill with your own efforts, no matter how bad they are at first. ”
This, to me, is a great starting point for any creator. So many times I've been confronted by the question: What will I create? Or, how will my creativity be different from what is already out there ? The author caters to both these questions quite heartily. According to the popular saying: Be what you want others to be; we should try to create content that we ourselves want to see as a fellow audience, shouldn't we ? This is also a great way to learn from other established creators and follow their footsteps, while adding our own spice to make a difference.
“ Once a day, after you’ve done your day’s work, go back to your documentation and find one little piece of your process that you can share. Where you are in your process will determine what that piece is. If you’re in the very early stages, share your influences and what’s inspiring you. If you’re in the middle of executing a project, write about your methods or share works in progress. If you’ve just completed a project, show the final product, share scraps from the cutting-room floor, or write about what you learned. ”
The author is talking about keeping the audience engaged with your work even when you’re in the middle of a project, and don't have the final product at hand yet. The point is, I believe, that you have to show the various efforts you’re putting backstage. This will in turn make the audience interested not only in the final piece that you have to offer, but also in the process as a whole. Perhaps the creator will come up as a more real person, who isn't hesitant to publish imperfect stages of his work. In recent digital trends, I've indeed seen people being keen to know more about how the creator is creating a piece, and not just the piece itself.
“ Carving out a space for yourself online, somewhere where you can express yourself and share your work,is still one of the best possible investments you can make with your time.
-Andy Baio ”
In this era of digital publicity, Baio emphasizes online involvement and having a personal domain. In this domain, unrestricted sharing may take place. It's easy to get lost in this internet hubbub, and the work might be misattributed or overlap with similar works. To prevent this, Baio suggests a separate space, a space where the creator can be himself and still contribute to the bigger online creative scenario.
“ Once you make sharing part of your daily routine, you’ll notice themes and trends emerging in what you share. You’ll find patterns in your flow. When you detect these patterns, you can start gathering these bits and pieces and turn them into something bigger and substantial. You can turn your flow into stock. ”
“Stock and flow” is an economic concept that writer Robin Sloan has adapted into a metaphor for media : “Flow is the feed. It’s the posts and tweets...Stock is the durable stuff. It's the content you produce that's as interesting in two months( or two years) as it is today. It's what people discover via search. It's what spreads slowly but surely, building fans over time.”
The way the author has adapted this idea to suit the needs of the creator is really impressive. It's true that we sometimes introspect over this bigger picture of what we are regularly sharing, and want to get hold of that all-inclusive theme that emanates from whatever we create. But according to Kleon, this process is gradual and cannot be forced. What we should really keep in mind is to keep creating, and keep sharing.
This does not sum it all up, does it ? There was so much more I wanted to write about, but I'll save that for another day. You must read this amazing book to get to know about this more and reflect over these lines yourself.
Until then, goodbye.
