6 Books To Feed The Artist Within You!
The ultimate solution for your creative block.
Alright, here we go. My sleep schedule is usually 10 pm but it’s 11 pm already and something was keeping me awake. So I decided that I should just take it out of my head instead of waiting for the morning to come. Let’s talk about my favorite type of books, the ones that keep me going. Books that are made for the creatives, by the creators & are about creativity!
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
This is a book made for me. It is a program made for me. It is a method with language for me, and with great advice that I was looking for.
The Artist’s Way is a twelve-week program, in which Julia Cameron aims to unlock the creativity of artists and non-artists. The liberation of creativity is achieved from the personal and spiritual work of the reader. This is not a program with exercises or creative tasks, at least not in the way that we are used to or that we expect from a book for creatives. This is an inner journey and personal work to connect with our own essence, with our divine part.
Some parts of the process are as painful as they are healing while others are the light that reveals our shadows. Each chapter corresponds to the work to be done in a week, aspects inherent to each one are dealt with. Such as the recovery of security, identity, power, the feeling of integrity, abundance, strength, compassion, and self-protection among others. Each chapter has exercises or activities.
However, there are consistent activities that take place every week. And these are the morning pages and the date with the artist within you. The morning pages are three pages that must be written daily (hopefully as soon as you wake up) and the artist date corresponds to a weekly activity, which should produce pleasure just by doing it on your own.
After completing the course, I feel strong and satisfied because there are days when it is not easy. It was clear to me that it is part of the process (and today I am clear that it is part of any process) and together with my own discipline, which comes from a strange mix between willpower and psycho-rigidity, it helped me to get ahead. I believe that this book gives the reader to adapt it to their own conditions.
The result of this book is the acquisition of new habits. I have also watched with affection how I do some everyday things in a different way. But the major product that The Artist’s Way leaves in me is understanding myself more and being merciful to myself.
Even though the author addresses a lot to screenwriters, writers or painters, the book is for artists and not artists, since we are all creative, and the language of the book guarantees inclusion. The Artist’s Way is a wonderful book, but I only recommend it for those who believe that creativity and their own being are connected to spirituality.
Although it is focused on art, the capacity for creativity is in all aspects of our life, with this book you learn to see what prevents you from achieving the dreams and desires that you have! It is a manual to discover what prevents or takes you away from the best you have to give!
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
I fear that I cannot be objective enough to review this book without falling into empty words that revolve around how or how much it changed or opened my mind. I’m going to make an effort to stay grounded.
Bird by Bird is the book recommended by all those who seek to write and find more problems than solutions (“Didn’t you read it ?! It’s the best there is, get it now!”). It is also the book recommended by those who have already written for a long time. It is also the book recommended by those who read, because it is a book and it is well written and it tells a story, the story of learning and the search to teach and tell in concrete words what writing means for someone who loves to write.
This book makes an introduction to all the topics that are linked to the art of writing (manuscripts, writing groups, and workshops, publication, index cards, ideas, blocks, etc.) and efficiently and personally cover each topic, exemplifying, citing authors left and right (all relevant and extremely interesting quotes; I’m sure I underlined them all) and always clarifying that there is no formula for any of these things.
However, it all becomes much more real and accessible when the author points out (and she does it well from the start) that writing is difficult and can drive you completely crazy.
The realism with which she approaches each of the topics anchors the book in a very accessible plane, with which it is easy to feel identified. And while she shows how it is possible to go crazy looking at the blank page, rereading everything written, listening to anecdotes of other people’s triumphs and successes, Anne Lammot sheds light on the fact that writing is a gift.
She constantly remembers how writing marked each stage, how she allowed her to remember her childhood and retell it, discovering new things. How writing helped her go through deaths and tragedies, how it helped her see the world as she really is, to feel it more intensely, to truly live. Anne shows the two sides of the same coin in her own flesh and she points out the real and true fruits of writing, those that are not seen and probably will never be seen.
It is difficult to explain where the genius of this book lies. Because chapter by chapter it is filtered in small sentences that Lammot uses to illustrate the ideas she seeks to explain and in the way in which she turns her entire life on the book — because she turns it into her writing and this book is nothing more than that itself, more writing, but with other characteristics.
With rawness, a lot of humor, careful and entertaining prose, Anne Lammot weaves one of the best books on the art of writing that only increases the thirst for writing and reading. Now I can only repeat what they told me so many times: “Didn’t you read it?! Get it now, it’s great!”
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
I found it to be a very entertaining book, you can read it in less than an afternoon.
The design is very dynamic and its writing really makes you connect with the author, it greatly helped me feel motivated. Without realizing it led me to analyze how to put ideas in order and “survive” problems.
Although it really seems more focused on designers, writers and artists, it can help anyone who wants to put creativity in their life.
It is a great book, loaded with truths few say or attempt to explain. Here you will have a quick and entertaining read where he will talk to you about what is necessary and give you the advice you need. He will not try to change your mentality, he only wants to guide you and make your way easier.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
This is the second book by Elizabeth Gilbert that I read and I can’t think of a better way to introduce myself into the world of this writer who reveals herself in this work with sincerity and humility.
Gilbert starts from a clear premise. All human beings are creators, but it is true that some choose that path in a more definite way than others. However, the ways of undertaking this fascinating journey can vary considerably. How many are the authors who, blinded by the tradition of romanticism and idealism, think that it is necessary to suffer to be good creators? How many actually manage to enjoy the process and also obtain quality works?
In the world of artists, there are too many false beliefs and myths that only prevent creation from flowing freely. Gilbert’s theory on inspiration is very interesting, part of the image that ideas circulate around the world in search of channels, people, that can transmit them. Fascinating isn’t it? If so, it is about having our sensors well activated to be able to capture those bursts of inspiration that can arise at any time.
The author draws attention to the fact that fear paralyzes creation and that the most important thing is to always be moving. Stop seeing “failures” as such, in fact, the word “failure” should be eradicated from the vocabulary of artists, who should take advantage of any opportunity to learn and improve.
In one of her many healthy humility exercises that seem to characterize this author, she acknowledges that it is sometimes necessary to let an idea pass. Do not cling, do not treat the work as if it were our son and each cut or each criticism was a personal affront.
Even when a work is finished and we are aware that it does not work, we must let it go instead of trying to force it. We must dedicate our time and energy to a project that does work while quickly turning the page. (This doesn’t mean that editing work can’t save a short story or novel, but it’s about being honest with yourself.)
Another interesting difference that Gilbert establishes is between originality and authenticity, showing a clear predilection for the latter. The desire to be original at all costs leads many artists to lose their authenticity. In fact, established artist fashion is something that Gilbert deeply rejects, as evidenced by her decision to continue working despite having become an international bestseller, because she did not want to stop having other sources of income and thus maintain her creative freedom.
Here she makes an interesting point when she comments that she is not at all in favor of getting into debt because of training (artists are impulsive beings who sometimes get into debt up to their eyebrows if they think that a certain course or master’s degree is going to bring them an improvement in their art) because that’s the beginning of the end. Once you wait for art to pay your bills, you are lost, you are no longer free.
One of the conclusions that she comes up with repeatedly in the book is the idea of not holding on to results, whether they are good or bad. Neither sink by a negative review, nor be carried away by the tide of success. Always stand firm, working, no matter what the world does with our work.
It is important to treat creativity as if it were a lover we sneakily see, and not as if it were a marriage that we are already bored with. Maintaining that energy will allow us to create with that halo of fascination that leads us to enter a trance more easily.
After reading this book, I wondered: What am I waiting for to start creating?
War of Art by Steven Pressfield
This is a short but meaty book for artists (not just writers) who are at a creative crossroads or deadlock. We’ve all been there, and I picked up this book, as always, at the right time; This guide gives more than tips, advice, lessons, and scolding for when we need a boost.
It is divided into three parts, we go from denial, then to acceptance, and finally to action; The most valuable thing, I think, is that it does not have to be read in order, sometimes we need scolding and the first part is enough, sometimes we need inspiration and the third is the one that works.
There are many books on creativity out there, but none more direct and to the point than this one. (Be careful, this one is not full of formulas for productivity).
In my opinion, it is not only the war of art, it is the war of life itself. These are tips for us to face apathy every day, let’s not get carried away by laziness and, in even simpler words, let’s not leave for tomorrow what we can do today. We should read it every so often until it became our mantra, to see if that is how we decided to act.
Art Matters by Neil Gaiman
I love how Neil Gaiman expresses his ideas, especially when they are practically true as houses. This book is a set of phrases by Neil Gaiman in conferences or other writings that give an example of what life, society, and dreams of each person should be, especially if you dedicate yourself to art, whatever it may be.
It is divided into four parts: Credo, where he talks more about the social sphere, the idea and their condition in the world, respect, what it is, and what it really should be. Because our future depends on libraries, reading, and daydreaming, he brings us ideas about what it means to him to be able to go to the library, that they take it seriously when he is eight years old, and the benefits that reading has for children and adults.
Like assembling a chair, he makes us see that the simplest thing in the world can be twisted in a bad way. The last text in this book is his speech “Make good art” that I already knew from having listened to it on YouTube a few years ago and I was amazed. It can be considered a guide as facing the world of art, it focuses more on the field of writing, but they work for all the arts.
The third is a poem that has been new for me but not new for those who have read “Sensitive Material”, although that matters little because, although this book does not include anything unpublished, collects 4 of his wonderful texts together with someone’s illustrations as Riddell is more than a hit.
“You’re finding out something as you read that will be vitally important for making your way in the world. And it’s this: the world doesn’t have to be like this. Things can be different.”
