This is the 8th edition of The Essence.
Last year while browsing YouTube, I came across a video that forever changed the way I see art. In the video, the creator quoted Steal Like an Artist’s author Austin Kleon:
“A great artist collects from sources that inspire him, which he can draw from any time. He stands on the shoulders of great artists before him, and remixes their work, and then adds something of his own.”
It blew me away. I struggled with self-doubt and criticism for stealing many ideas from a popular fantasy series for my first novel. I saw myself as some sort of plagiarizer, which wasn’t true, even though I relied heavily on one source of inspiration. After learning this truth about art, I was relieved.
But I still made a mistake with my first novel. My mistake wasn’t that I stole ideas. It was that I didn’t do it right. Here’s the best method in short:
Steal from many sources
Remix what you stole
Add your own thing
If you think with only this superficial outline you’d know how to steal best like great artists, rethink. Check this mini-guide I’ve published in The Writing Cooperative about the creative stealing method:
The formula isn’t only for novelists or fiction writers. I use it when writing non-fiction and regular articles too. It can even be applied outside the writing world, like in marketing and business.
I’ve also written a follow-up article, which was published on Jun 23. In it, I give more examples, and I detail where you can find great ideas to steal:
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour… books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light, and shadows.” — Jim Jarmusch.
The third piece I’ve written about this topic—I tried to cover as much of it as possible—is Kleon’s family tree method. The method could be summarized in this quote from his book:
“Chew on one thinker — writer, artist, activist, role model — you really love. Study everything there is to know about that thinker. Then find three people that thinker loved, and find out everything about them. Repeat this — as many times as you can. Climb up the tree as far as you can.”
Again, I suggest you read the article to learn more about Kleon’s family tree method.
I’m not trying to up the views for these articles. I want you to learn how to legally and ethically steal from your sources of inspiration. I’ve read stories of writers who may have misunderstood these concepts. Then went on to literally plagiarize the work of others. I don’t want you to end up like them.
The last article in this sort of series was published on the fourth of July:
The four concepts are:
Art is inspired by the past: nothing is original
Good artists create different art than their sources of inspiration. Great artists better art or at least something different.
Don’t steal like hoarders, steal like an artist (only collect what you really love)
There are only two types of art (art worth stealing and art not worth stealing)
You can skip the first concept while reading the article. I’ve already explained it enough in the other posts.
When I learned about these concepts, the way I see art completely changed. Along with the way I see writing and creativity as a whole. It changed for the better.
Study these concepts and the methods of creative and artistic thievery. They will help you stand on the shoulders of your writing heroes.
Until next time,
Mohammed