Little Updates
To get inspiration for Nanowrimo and editing my capstone project for my film degree, I have been rereading “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon.
This book got me out of a creative slump before, and I knew it could do it again. I decided to annotate it this time to help me retain what I learn better and to pick out my favorite advice better. I started the deep dive into “Tip 6: Do Good Work and Share It with People”. Here, Kleon talks about the joys of obscurity at the beginning of your journey and why you should take advantage of it, something I’ve neglected to do. At this point, no one really knows my work or really cares about it. I don’t have to worry about the pressures of a large audience yet, and I can just write.
But while I don’t have the pressure of a big audience on my shoulders yet, I do have the pressure I put on myself wearing me down a bit. It’s frustrating, to say the least. At this point in my life, I could be writing anything and everything, but I keep stopping myself from pursuing these ideas because I’m afraid it’s gonna suck. I think many people can relate to that.
I have this video in my queue with everything that needs to be edited. The footage is there, the music, sound effects, everything! And yet, I can’t force myself to just sit and edit it. I have time to film my capstone and finish it up, yet I don’t. I have fun ideas for a novel and a zero draft marinating and, you guessed it, I don’t touch it. This is perhaps the most frustrating thing I’m dealing with in my twenties (besides a global pandemy).
But this is where the other part of Kleon’s advice comes through. Sharing little updates with others to keep you going. I may not have the full video ready, but I can share the intro I made. I don’t have a full novel, but I can share a quote. My progress is something I can share and be proud of at this moment.
Everytime I share something, I hope it takes a bit of the pressure off my shoulders.
So please enjoy my little updates as time goes on. These are the steps I’m taking to get me across the finish line.
