Writing lessons from the bestselling author of Show Your Work! Austin Cleona

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Today we'll share with you lessons in writing from Austin Cleon, author of Show Your Work and Steal Like an Artist.

1. Don't try to write a book while you are caring for a newborn baby

I underestimated how much time and effort a child requires. The first two months will be the most difficult. So carry your pocket notebook with you and take notes for the future.

2. Write outside the home

Rent an office or go to a coffee shop. Well, or as a last resort, work at home, but in a room whose door is closing. Find a place where you can simply, without being distracted by anything outsider.

Show your work! I wrote with my headphones on, which were supposed to help me drown out the crying of a child. Let me give you a tip: headphones will never replace a closed door.

3. Stop researching, start writing

There is a terrible temptation to get stuck in research. But you need to force yourself to stop and just start writing. When I took on this work, I thought that the only sure way was to do all the necessary research and only then start working on the book. Over time, I began to realize that it’s only when you start writing that you actually figure out what you don’t know and what you should know.

David McCullough

4. After you have written half of the book, try to talk about it as little as possible

I am an incorrigible extrovert. I began to communicate with people even more after I wrote the book: there was a need to go out and talk with readers, and this is really cool. It’s not so great when I have to isolate myself from society long enough to get to grips with the book.

I, as they say, think out loud, which means that ideas will not come to me until I express them. If I drop these thoughts in the course of a conversation, then it is less likely that I will be able to express them in writing.

5. Stick to the plan while you draft the book

When you start working on a book, do your first sketches, you are sure that you will change a lot, and, quite possibly, you will. But, in spite of everything, when starting to write, try to stick to the original plan. If you constantly jump from one idea to another, then you will never finish writing.

6. The book can be your aching pain while you write it. The main thing is that it does not become your pain when it is read

From the diary of Austin Cleon

June 19. I hate this book with all my heart.

21st of June. Angry and irritable all day. It's all because of this stupid book.

27th of June. He wrote. Things are getting better.

June 28. Worked most of the day. It seems that I can finish this book.

June 29. SO CLOSE to the advanced version.

July 1. I can't believe the rough draft is almost done.

July 2. I completed the draft. I took a nap.

July 15. Meg read the draft. I reread it. I tried to work.

July 17th. I'm like a squeezed lemon. I've been working on this damn book all day. I feel sick and depressed. I want to forget about this book.

People are very surprised when they find out what a terrible time it was for me to write the book. But that means I have done my job!

7. Your loved one is tired of constantly talking about your book

Seriously. Do something nice for him / her, or at least don't talk about your book. It's very important to spend time together and not talk about work.

8. Don't use the phrase “I gave the book life” as a metaphor

There is only one way to understand that you wrote the book as if you gave it life: after it is published, the main pain will pass, but the work will only begin.

9. Don't stop

After you've finished one book, start writing something else as soon as you can. Feel like you can't quit.

If you feel like you're "burned out," give yourself a break. Read it. Take a trip. Talk to people. Leave, but be sure to come back.

10. Know what you signed up for

Best-case scenario: You wrote a good book that became a bestseller. Then everyone will want you to write another one. "What's next?" - the eternal question that haunts the writer … So be careful!