A message to an aspiring writer
I recently came across a very interesting podcast named "Not Overthinking" by Ali Abdaal and Taimur Abdaal. Ali has a very interesting Youtube channel as well which you can find under the name Ali Abdaal. His channel is mostly based on productivity and getting things done which if sounds like something you'd be interested in definitely check it out. If you're a student you'll find his earlier content extremely useful as he talks about the effective ways of studying which truly shocked me the first time i came across it.
Their 81st weekly podcast episode is what particularly spoke to me which was titled "Austin Kleon on writing, creativity and the importance of idleness". The episode is 2 hours and 3 minutes and i will leave a link for anyone interested in checking it out. https://podcasts.apple.com/lk/podcast/not-overthinking/id1456538451?i=1000497800678 Austin Kleon is a New York times bestselling author of five books, Show your work, Keep going, Steal like an artist, Steal like an artist journal and Newspaper blackout. If you're questioning on showing your work and worried about one's insecurities i think show your work might be the book that assures you of any doubt.
Show your work - https://amzn.to/3o7mKgO
Keep going - https://amzn.to/3miwPqK
Steal like an artist - https://amzn.to/2V8IPPU
Steal like an artist journal - https://amzn.to/37flEsT
The episode talks about a variety of interesting topics which really resonated with me. I broke it down into 3 mains. First they talked about putting yourself out into the world like starting a blog or a Youtube channel, simply an online presence. Secondly they talked about what it's like being a writer and the process of writing which really cleared a few doubts i had. Ali also mentioned he was in the process of writing a book and that he found it is extremely tough even though initially he was fairly breezy on the subject. Thirdly they talked mostly about life in general, the work life balance and fame and such things. Austin Kleon's perspective is really interesting being a 37 year old with two children aged 5 and 8, having gone through life for a fair bit of time, his take on certain subjects they talked about were fresh to me.
I've consumed a lot of content around this "put yourself out into the world" idea mostly of Ali's because he talks about it in such awe and surprise. The exponential benefits that can be reaped by this are so far rumours to me but he's living it and i can see how surprising it can be for a person who didn't expect it. I think i'd react the same. Actually Austin Kleon's show your work is apparently the book that made Ali start a blog back in 2015 and now he has over a million subscribers on his Youtube channel. I've liked this idea for a long time because well, who wouldn't but i never knew what to talk about. I had no specific genre of content like cooking or productivity that i knew a whole lot about to blog or make a video about. But in the episode they talk about this idea of presenting yourself as a student and not as an expert and simply sharing what you're learning. This eliminated a lot of excuses i've been giving myself about starting a blog. The basis behind the idea is that when you're an expert and you specialise in a certain subject it can be tough to relate to someone who's just starting out whereas a person who's been learning that art for a little bit of time might be able to teach better even though their not an expert. Austin also said this is why students can sometimes teach other students better than the teacher because when they have just mastered that skill they can relate more to the mistakes and problems that might come up. The qualification for teaching anything is not really existent and in my opinion if someone else can benefit from what you're learning i see no harm in that. Plus they talk about the increased opportunity that arises from an online presence. The way Ali describes it is, if you're in a small village there's a lot less chance for serendipity than if you were in a bigger village (a presence online), where your chance for serendipity and interesting things to happen magnifies beyond the point of imagination, and i think that can be very true and anyone with a successful online presence would tell the world the same.
Writing is something i've been interested in since i was young. The sheer power of inventing characters and building a story is so powerful to me. And that instance when everything falls into place is memorable. Even though i love doing it the habit is not one that follows. I find that sitting down to write is always tough but once i start writing the train of thought doesn't stop. Austin has a very interesting view on this daily writing practice. It's obviously very beneficial because you stay in the habit of writing and you improve that skill but he also says when you sit down to write everyday it's not because you have something to say but it's that you find out what you have to say through writing. He mentions that this practice separates some time for you in the day to better understand what's on your mind. That was a really good insight and he says writing is a way of communicating with yourself which i thought was beautifully said. Ali having only started out writing asked Austin Kleon some questions about the whole experience. I found out through their conversation that usually writers take 9 to 12 months to finish up a first draft and it can take years for writers to find that perfect structure you're looking for which i found awesome because i've attempted to write a handful of times but realised the pieces were not coming together around a week or so of work and i just quit. Seems my idea of the project i was up-taking had been wrong all this time which i was glad to hear. Ali talked about something his editor mentioned called the power hour where you spend an hour of every day writing. He says it might be very important because there's always something you'd rather do than write so having an appointed hour helps you stay in practice. Practice makes perfect they both agree. Austin said doing stupid stuff like wearing a shirt you really like or a robe to get in the mood of writing is useful. His "stupid way" is to stick a cigar like pencil in his mouth while writing. He says it makes him feel like an old man who works with the newspaper with a lit cigarette. The method proves very effective he says because in the end whatever gets you to write is what's needed. They also talked about first drafts and how that process is like engineering a meal out of rotten food, meaning whatever you do it always starts off very bad which i think takes the pressure off of the writing process where you think you have to get it right the first time. Once you do have a bad first draft though you can edit and make it better which is better than walking away from a blank page thinking it's going to be bad what's the point. The best part about writing away without questioning its quality is you might even surprise yourself later. Good or bad, it gives you something to work with.
They talked about careers and life on the podcast and when talking about careers Austin said something that i think everyone should hear. He said "People are much better served by forgetting about what noun you want to be and think about what verb you want to do" and i think that is such a good way to look at a career. For example rather than aiming to be a novelist if you just love words and writing simply pursuing that passion can lead to amazing opportunities. Austin also talks about in a world where people are expected to specialise, just having different passions in life, even if it doesn't get you a career, it gets you a life. Austin is a cartoonist and a web designer and his skills have proved very useful he says. What he says on pursuing various passions and building a career out of them is you have to find a way to connect them, "they will speak to each other". I think by being talented or knowledgeable in different areas creates a unique place for yourself in the world.
Austin also mentioned how people should be aware of their interests. He used the example of the search and the feed to explain this further. He says that the feed is quite pushy of the content where you would reluctantly click on something and be interested in that. However the search is more intuitive because you actually search your interests and he says to be sure you're not being fed your interests but more to search out what they are. "There's an art of paying attention to what you pay attention to" is how he describes it.
Ali and Austin talked about productivity and somewhat of a misconception of it which is how you should be productive all the time. That's not really how anyone or anything works they say. Animals hibernate, crops are grown and harvested at different times, the point being that you cannot and should not just mind numbingly be thought to need to be productive all the time. Of course you could but other aspects of your life may suffer and you could as well. The resistance against productivity is a very real thing, Austin says. A thing that kind of surprised me about their conversation towards the end was their talk about fame and how it's such a worthless thing on it's own which is very hard to survive. That is yet for me to find out i think.
The final thought i will share is their attitude towards quantity and quality. They both agree that quantity is better than quality when it comes to creativity because the refining of that art is better than perfection. It's just another one of those things where you have to keep doing it until you make something of it i think.
That is my take on episode 81 of not overthinking with Austin Kleon and if you made it this far you must really not have anything better to do or you found the post captivating which is a huge compliment. If you are actually pretty jobless for the time just start a blog, create that online presence and have fun with it. You can create your own blog with your own domain by creating an account with Blogger. There you can create your own original content and build an audience.
I hope this adds value to your life.
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