Steal Like An Artist/Show Your Work! Review

Genre📚

Nonfiction: self-help/content creation

Summary🗒

Learn the secret of creativity, restructure how writing works, and grow your online presence. In these two mini publications, Kleon reimagines the way artists should create digitally; sharing countless anecdotes and lessons he has accumulated over the last decade of writing online. 

Review🤔

So, I found out about these two books from some articles and videos. Turns out they are very famous in the content creation world. 

And honestly I see why. This guy Austin Kleon, really understands artists, specifically the online ones. The two books are super short (200 pages with lots of pictures) but still filled with quotable lines to write down and reflect on everyday. You could maybe label them as “self help”, but I see these books as more of a guide to creating on the digital web. 

Steal like an Artist🥷

Everything in here was super inspiring, especially the simple way Kleon described creativity. For the longest time I saw originality as this lightning in a bottle concept: a lone genius locks himself in a room for days meditating on his ideas to maybe come up with something unique. Kleon tears this theory down. He describes creativity as simply remixing other people's ideas to create something new. I mean it's something I never thought of, but seems so obvious now; everyone before 1977 had seen hundreds of sword fights in their fictional media, but never something like the duel between Darth Vader and Kenobi in A New Hope. It’s just remixing, borrow from here, borrow from there, that's all it takes to be original. He then goes on to explain finding ideas similarly, describing it as a continuous process. There’s no need to become a hobbit locked in a cabin for three months to write your novel. Instead, passively collect inspiration from every aspect of your life and write it down in one place. Write from conversations with strangers, write from books you've finished, write from that moment in your favorite movie that touches you every time, even podcasts or articles. Use media as fuel to your creativity. If engineers and scientists are allowed to build on previous ideas that came before them, why can’t artists do the same? 

Show your Work! 🧑‍💻

This one was more personal to the type of stuff I do on this website. Kleon writes about how he started a successful blog and what it takes to build an online brand. I can't begin to imagine what it's like to manage a real audience and market to them. But, I can see the habits that build a writing business, and the type of empire you can grow from simply communicating your ideas. Things like owning a domain, treating writing like the gym (going everyday), and embracing a beginners mindset. The section about the beginners perspective in particular, really stuck with me: the goal of attaining a variety of opinions and views on your work, growing and learning from others after posting your content. I've now realized that half the process of writing online only does come after you hit publish. For now, this is a simple hobby, but it's motivating to know that I can truly take this anywhere. 

It's safe to say these two works have overhauled my writing process. Using the apps Notion and Apple Notes, I have started passively recording any new engaging piece of information, article, story, or idea that comes my way. Day One is another application that stores my thoughts, specifically through helping me develop a habit in daily journaling. With these tools, I never start writing from a blank page. In fact, the more recent reviews on this website (even the ones still cooking), reflect this; many of them starting out as notes taken from conversations I've shared with others, different bits of online perspectives, and my own blending of everything in between. Also incorporating more daily writing habits into my life and seeking a variety of perspectives on my work have helped me in expanding the skill.

I would really recommend finding the physical versions if you are interested. I have them both on kindle and the pictures are just so inventive, scribbles and blacked out poetry filling up full pages. In the hand, they probably feel like Doctor Seuss books for adults. Next time I have the opportunity, I'll try picking them up. 

Thanks Austin, for all the advice.

Final Score: 8/10😃

Very inspiring and would recommend to anyone who is even entertaining the idea of creating digital content.