Write the book you want to read…

Recently, a friend forwarded me an entry from Austin Kleon’s blog entitled: How to steal like and artist and 9 other things nobody told me (Steal Like An Artist). He’s actually turning it into a book now so all you closet artists out there should join the mailing list or follow him on twitter, as well as me of course… but hey, I’m just getting warmed up.

So, essentially the article offers 10 rules of thumb that pertain to the life of an artist, or let’s say… people with a creative compulsion. Now, several of the tips are poignant and useful, but today I’m particularly interested in "stealing" tip #3: Write the book you want to read.

 

To paraphrase his point, the cliché answer to the question of every aspiring writer regarding what they should write about is, “write what you know.” This advice, according to Kleon, leaves us with a bunch of terrible stories where nothing interesting happens. Now, I’m certain there are many engaging books written by people that “know” their material. His point is that obsessing on what you already know might not be the most enthralling way to get the creativity flowing. Maybe, you don’t necessarily have to write what you know. Maybe you should write what you like.

Supporting Argument…

Ever hear of the two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough? His latest book, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, explores a group of exceptionally gifted individuals, eager to excel in their work, that traveled to France between 1830 and 1900 to discover the true depth of their talents and immerse themselves deeply in various fields of study that were not available to them at home, including painting, photography, writing, medicine, politics, sculpture and architecture (The Greater Journey).

As a consequence of their experience, many of them returned with an enlightened knowledge that they proudly gave to America, whether it was a major invention like Samuel F.B. Morse’s telegraph or the esteemed writings of James Fenimore Cooper. Interestingly, several aspects of our lives and culture, that we believe to be quintessentially American, can actually be attributed to French influence.

As McCullough explored Paris, the idea of compiling a literary guidebook that documented where historically significant individuals lived and noteworthy events took place, came to him. In an online video, he describes the project so simply, “… I’ve had the need to read or the desire to read a certain kind of book and if I find the book doesn’t exist, I think well… why don’t you write it so you can read it.”

JAMLAB validation… coming full circle.

A Pulitzer Prize winning author and deeply respected American historian embarked on a mission to tell the untold stories of a group of exceptionally talented individuals that followed their creative intuition with unparalleled intensity and brought that experience back to America for our benefit. I haven’t even read the book yet and I’m amazed because this is precisely one of the missions of JAMLAB (minus the going to Paris part). Wait a minute. Maybe he already wrote the book that I want to write. Damn it.

Seriously though, McCullough’s novel demonstrates an undeniable truth and one that JAMLAB strongly echoes. There is a liberating quality that engulfs people that have found a way to align their aptitude with their passion, whatever their position on the scale of success. Of course, very few of us have created our masterpiece… yet. But, if we ignore that inner voice calling our name, we never even get the chance.