Real Artists Don't Starve by Jeff Goins
When Tolkien began a new book called The New Hobbit, he got stuck after he'd written a few chapters. He asked his good friend C.S. Lewis to lunch and told him his problem.
Lewis told him that 'hobbits are only interesting when they're in un-hobbit like situations'.
Without that statement, we may never have had The Lord of the Rings! Jeff Goins uses this anecdote to show the importance of collaboration, one of his suggestions for pursuing a career as an artist. This book is full of wise advice, including how essential it is for artists to find their 'tribe,' to get the help of a mentor, and to be stubborn and take the right risks. He illustrates his chapters on these subjects with examples of successful people and stories from his own career. For example, when he began his career as a writer, the novelist Steven Pressfield told him that you are a writer 'when you say you are'. He then put the word 'writer' on his business cards and email signature and told people that he was a writer. He also started writing every day and treating it as a job.
I did find some of the examples rather daunting, such as Michelangelo and Ernest Hemingway. This could put readers off because they might think that they will never reach the level of these artists. However, Goins also uses the examples of much less famous people, and they are not all 'artists' in the usual sense. For instance, Zach Prichard hated the thought that his favourite author might not be able to turn his memoir into a feature film so he began a crowd funding campaign. It took enormous effort but he raised the money. This began his own successful career.
This is an extremely useful book to read for anyone interested in a career in the arts but it might be a good idea to take notes. I highly recommend it.
I received this free ebook from Booklook Bloggers in return for an honest review.
Lewis told him that 'hobbits are only interesting when they're in un-hobbit like situations'.
Without that statement, we may never have had The Lord of the Rings! Jeff Goins uses this anecdote to show the importance of collaboration, one of his suggestions for pursuing a career as an artist. This book is full of wise advice, including how essential it is for artists to find their 'tribe,' to get the help of a mentor, and to be stubborn and take the right risks. He illustrates his chapters on these subjects with examples of successful people and stories from his own career. For example, when he began his career as a writer, the novelist Steven Pressfield told him that you are a writer 'when you say you are'. He then put the word 'writer' on his business cards and email signature and told people that he was a writer. He also started writing every day and treating it as a job.
I did find some of the examples rather daunting, such as Michelangelo and Ernest Hemingway. This could put readers off because they might think that they will never reach the level of these artists. However, Goins also uses the examples of much less famous people, and they are not all 'artists' in the usual sense. For instance, Zach Prichard hated the thought that his favourite author might not be able to turn his memoir into a feature film so he began a crowd funding campaign. It took enormous effort but he raised the money. This began his own successful career.
This is an extremely useful book to read for anyone interested in a career in the arts but it might be a good idea to take notes. I highly recommend it.
I received this free ebook from Booklook Bloggers in return for an honest review.
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