Steal Like an Artist

If you ever find that you're the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.

The best advice is not to write what you know, it's to write what you like. Write the kind of story you like best— write the story you want to read. The same principle applies to your life and your career. Whenever you're at a loss for what move to make next, just ask yourself, "What would make a better story?"

Establishing and keeping a routine can be even more important than having a lot of time. Inertia is the death of creativity. You have to stay in the groove.

The great thing about dead or remote masters is that they can't refuse you as an apprentice. You can learn whatever you want from them. They left their lesson plans in their work.

In this age of information abundance and overload, those who get ahead will be the folks who figure out what to leave out, so they can concentrate on what's really important to them. Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities.

If there was a secret formula for becoming known, I would give it to you. But there's only one not-so-secret formula that I know: Do good work and share it with people.

The way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom.

Always be reading. Go to the library. There's magic in being surrounded by books. Get lost in the stacks. Read bibliographies. It's not the book you start with, it's the book that book leads you to.

A wonderful flaw about human beings is that we're incapable of making perfect copies. Our failure to copy our heroes is where we discover where our own thing lives. That is how we evolve.

Don't worry about a grand scheme or unified vision for your work. [...] What unifies your work is the fact that you made it. One day, you'll look back and it will all make sense.