Book Review: Real Artists Don’t Starve

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. —MICHELANGELO BUONAROTTI Location: 131

BEING A STARVING ARTIST IS A CHOICE, NOT A NECESSARY CONDITION OF DOING CREATIVE WORK. Location: 258

Sometimes in life, the script we’re given no longer fits the story we want to live. We realize the rules we were following were assigned by someone who did not have our best interests in mind. And now, we must do something about it. Location: 303

If we want to become artists, we are going to have to break some rules. We cannot do just what is expected of us. At some point, we must break away from the status quo and forge a new path. As it turns out, this is how creativity works best. Location: 338

THERE IS NO GREATER PAIN THAN LIVING A LIE WHEN THE TRUTH IS BURIED DEEP INSIDE YOU. Location: 402

The reason many of us never self-actualize is because it’s easier to play a role in life than it is to become our true selves. It’s easier to conform to what people expect than it is to stand out. But this is not the way great art is made, nor is it the way real artists are made. Location: 407

Eventually, you have to decide who you are. You have to choose your role and own that identity. We don’t fake it till we make it. We believe it till we become it. Location: 409

The first step to doing creative work is just that—a step, not a leap or an epiphany—just one small decision that leads to the next one. Sure, some people may risk it all and end up winning, but those are the exceptions to the rule, and that kind of success is often short-lived. The alternative—doing something so small and gradual that it almost looks like you’re doing nothing—often leads to much more sustainable success. Location: 463

You can do extraordinary things when you are patiently persistent. Location: 466

We are either becoming more of our true selves or drifting into a false self. Location: 520

Art is always found on the fringes, at the edge of our discomfort where true change occurs. Location: 531

According to researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, creative work is comprised of five steps: preparation, incubation, insight, evaluation, and elaboration. Location: 561

Creativity is not about being original; it’s about learning to rearrange what has already been in a way that brings fresh insight to old material. Location: 567

The best artists steal, but they do so elegantly, borrowing ideas from many sources and arranging them in new and interesting ways. You have to know your craft so well that you can build on the work of your predecessors, adding to the body of existing work. Location: 575

If we want to create work that will stand the test of time, we must honor the legacies we’ve received. We must become students before we become masters. Location: 656

The way you establish your authority in a certain field is by mastering the techniques of those who are already authorities. And what eventually emerges over time is your own style. Location: 671

The difference between an artist and a copycat is that the artist builds on the work she has received and the copycat only mimics it. Location: 694

SKILL IS NOT ENOUGH TO EARN THE ATTENTION OF AN INFLUENCER—YOU MUST BE TEACHABLE. Location: 836

You must be courageous enough to reach out to a master but at the same time hardworking enough not to waste his time. When things don’t go according to plan, do what must be done. And when it doesn’t work out, be persistent. Keep showing up, regardless of the outcome. Opportunities may come and go, but in the end, hard work is all we can measure. Location: 903

We are stubborn on vision. We are flexible on details. —JEFF BEZOS Location: 917

We are told artists are stubborn, and they certainly can be. But this isn’t always a bad thing. Stubbornness can be an essential ingredient in making a living off your art. When you harness your strategic stubbornness, you give the world a reason to believe in your work. Location: 1,064

The question is, are you stubborn enough to succeed? Location: 1,129

BEFORE YOU REACH AN AUDIENCE OF MANY, YOU MUST FIRST REACH AN AUDIENCE OF ONE. Location: 1,203

Influencers want to help people. They want to invest in others. They just need to know that you’re worth their time, which means your abilities need to be obvious. Your job, then, is to get to work, because the best way to win over a patron is to show them your potential, and the best demonstration of your ability is the work itself. This doesn’t mean you must be suddenly amazing—most artists in need of a patron are not. But it does mean that you should be working and, more importantly, be willing to learn. Location: 1,268

If you want to be creative, go where your questions lead you. —LOUIS L’AMOUR Location: 1,354

GREAT WORK DOES NOT COME ABOUT THROUGH A SINGLE STROKE OF GENIUS, BUT BY THE CONTINUAL EFFORT OF A COMMUNITY. Location: 1,451

Whether that means moving across the room or around the globe, a willingness to step out of our comfort zone is the first step toward finding the place and the people who will help our work thrive. Location: 1,593

THE STARVING ARTIST WORKS ALONE. THE THRIVING ARTIST COLLABORATES WITH OTHERS. Most any significant creative endeavor . . . calls for accomplices. —PHILIPPE PETIT Location: 1,612

As Lewis himself once wrote, “The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” The same, it seems, can be said for being creative. We don’t do our best work alone; we do it by collaborating with others. Location: 1,645

Creativity is not a solitary invention but a collaborative creation. Community offers opportunities for creative work to thrive, and that is a kind of magic we can all create. Location: 1,685

Community made possible what was otherwise impossible for the individual. Location: 1,733

If you want to do world-changing creative work, you must reconcile the fact that you likely won’t be able to do it alone. You need help. Find your band of misfits, use the accountability of that group, and let your sense of competition drive you to create better work. Diana Glyer’s personal theory is that 92 percent of The Lord of the Rings was written on Wednesday nights, because J. R. R. Tolkien knew on Thursdays he’d have to face his friend C. S. Lewis and account for his work. Lewis and the rest of the Inklings would ask where Tolkien was in the story he’d been telling them. “What did you write?” they would ask. Location: 1,804

THE STARVING ARTIST DOESN’T SHARE HIS WORK. THE THRIVING ARTIST PRACTICES IN PUBLIC. Play always as if in the presence of a master. —ROBERT SCHUMANN Location: 1,815

The novelist George Sand once wrote that it is the duty of all artists “to find an adequate expression to convey [their art] to as many souls as possible.” Or to put it more succinctly: art needs an audience. Location: 1,860

There is no better way to improve than to put your work out there—sharing it for the whole world to see—no other way to get discovered than to risk rejection. You have to practice in public. Location: 1,936

TO DO THE WORK OF A PROFESSIONAL, YOU HAVE TO STOP WAITING TO BE SEEN AND START SHARING YOUR WORK NOW. Location: 1,963

THE STARVING ARTIST WORKS FOR FREE. THE THRIVING ARTIST ALWAYS WORKS FOR SOMETHING. When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss Art. When artists get together for dinner, they discuss Money. —OSCAR WILDE Location: 2,019

Our best work comes from the tension of trying to serve our craft and meet the demands of the market. Location: 2,171

THE STARVING ARTIST SELLS OUT TO AN EARLY BIDDER. THE THRIVING ARTIST OWNS HIS WORK. No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. —NIETZSCHE Location: 2,198

THE CHIEF GOAL OF EVERY ARTIST IS TO MAKE THE WORK GREAT. Location: 2,313

IN THE END, BEING AN ARTIST IS ABOUT CREATING GREAT WORK, AND OWNERSHIP IS THE WAY WE GET TO ENSURE THAT GREATNESS. Location: 2,425

THE STARVING ARTIST MASTERS ONE CRAFT. THE THRIVING ARTIST MASTERS MANY. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. —JOHN STEINBECK Location: 2,433

Would you rather hire a writer who is only good at crafting prose, or one who also understands marketing? Would you prefer to work for a boss who only knows how to get things done or one who also has emotional intelligence? When we develop a diverse portfolio, we do better and more interesting work. Location: 2,476

Creative people tend to live in the world of ideas and possibilities. Because of this, we may struggle with a lack of focus, but this is not always a bad thing. A wandering mind can be an asset if you learn how to use it. Location: 2,500

A leaky mental filter is the ability to hold multiple conflicting ideas in tension with each other in a way that they can build upon each other. “People with leaky attention might be able to notice things that others don’t notice or see connections between things,” she told me, “which might lead to a creative idea or creative thought.” Location: 2,504

Starving Artists try to master one skill. Thriving Artists acquire whatever skills necessary to get the job done. One is about short-term rewards; the other is about creating for a lifetime. If you don’t believe the myth that mastery is just doing one thing, then you, too, can create a body of work that will endure. Location: 2,540

Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense—the creative act. —KENNETH REXROTH Location: 2,791

The point is not to make a fortune or become famous, but to do the work. We are all looking for a way to share our gift with the world without worrying about making a living. That means more than getting paid once for our creations. It means building a life that allows us to keep creating. Location: 2,864