Big Magic is part self-help, part-fable, an attempt at presenting an alternate view of creativity. You may not agree with all that she says; I didn’t, for one. Many of the good quotes and ideas in the book are from existing literature, stories and people, quoted in detail; parts which’ve made what should be a blog into a book.
She contends that ideas have a life-form, a consciousness, and move from person to person. She shares some anecdotes which I just can’t believe. When I reached this part, I suspended reading the book for a couple of months. She has no clear and final views; she travels through thoughts and presents all that she feels, so it’s unclear what she wanted to convey.
Some good ideas in the book include
She contends that ideas have a life-form, a consciousness, and move from person to person. She shares some anecdotes which I just can’t believe. When I reached this part, I suspended reading the book for a couple of months. She has no clear and final views; she travels through thoughts and presents all that she feels, so it’s unclear what she wanted to convey.
Some good ideas in the book include
1. Don’t expect your creativity to support you financially (easier said, but I agree with the thought);
2. Don’t fetishize suffering; art doesn’t have to be achieved through suffering;
3. Art is paradoxically meaningless and meaningful, a paradox you should comfortably inhabit (got me thinking);
4. Treat your creative pursuit like a passionate extramarital affair, not an old marriage; pursue it while no one is watching;
5. Question is not what would you do if you knew you could not fail? Question is what would you do even if you knew you would fail?
In all, a quick read, with some food for thought and some takeaways.
In all, a quick read, with some food for thought and some takeaways.
