In the follow-on book, Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered, Austin Kleon talks about the art-stealing process in reverse. Doing the giving rather than stealing. Here are my reflections on the topic in the book.
“Work Doesn’t Speak for Itself”
But the stories about the work do.
The stories about the work affect how people feel and understand about your work.
The feelings and understanding affect how people value your work.
Become a better story-teller is a must-have skill for pros who want to produce work that matters.
“Structure is Everything”
Our lives may be messy and unorganized, but the stories we should not be.
The most important part of a story is its structure.
Steven Pressfield talks about this structure of beginning-middle-end in his book “Do the Work.”
Story-telling is a hard skill to master and can take a lifetime to do.
Just like many things, the stories get better the more we talk about them.
“Talk About Yourself at Parties”
The stories about your work are non-fiction, so tell the truth and with dignity and self-respect.
You do have to make your case because no one else will.
There is no need to hijack your audience, either. Tell stories with a sense of empathy for your audience.
Your stories might not be for everyone, and that is OK.
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