7 Things That Made Me Stop And Think This Week.
Creative Sparks: #11
Continuing my read through of Amanda Palmer’s The Art of Asking.
The more I read her book, the more I find insightful nuggets of wisdom on the human relationships, the relationship between artist and audience and the relationship between the artist and her own creativity.
This is becoming a book I’m sure I will return to again and again.
Now onto this week’s stories that resonated with me.
1. Be Better At Parties, The New York Times
Who wants to know how to be better at parties?
One faux pas I know I do at parties — i am too reliant on my phone as a crutch when I’m the whole “I’m freaking out there’s no one to talk to why am I here this is awkward” mind space.
Well, this comprehensive step-by-step guide breaks down all the intricacies of socialising at parties into one neat little package.
For someone who needs some time to get warmed up at social events (or even to coax myself out of the house sometimes, this was one of those amazing works to find. It’s well researched, beautifully illustrated and a absolute pleasure to read.
2, Reading Aloud, Austin Kleon
I always resort to the simple passage of time as my editor.
As writers and creatives, we tend to be intensely attached to our work. Editing yourself makes you squirm. Time gives you the necessary space and distance to separate yourself from the text and look at it from a dispassionate point of view.
But what if you don’t have the luxury of time available?
Austin Kleon suggesting reading your work aloud. Reading aloud helps you to hear how it sounds like through the ears of others to get a fresh
“Quentin Tarantino says he likes to read his scripts to his friends, not for their feedback, but their presence. “I don’t want input, I don’t want you to tell me if I’m doing anything wrong, heavens forbid,” he says, “But I write a scene, and I think I’ve heard it as much as I can, but then when I read it to you … I hear it through your ears, and it lets me know I’m on the right track.”
3. The Moon’s View by N.A. Turner
I love the way N.A. Turner packs simple truths and universal life lessons into short stories like these.
This story reminds me that sometimes we need to bring some perspective into our lives by looking at things from a different view. I would love to incorporate more storytelling into my writing and stuff like this inspires me!
“Let me tell you what I see when I see your kind from here. Your kind worry and fear too much, about uncertainties, prestige or other vanities. But one needn’t worry about those trivialities. If something doesn’t go your way, think of how big that problem is, seen from this very spot.”
4. One Piece Of Advice That Guides Me At Work by Charing Kam
Charing here talks about a section of Neil Gaiman’s speech — Make Good Art that resonates with her work life.
Ask yourself three key questions when you’re struggling at work as an internal yardstick to measure your own performance.
- Am I good at my job?
- Am I easy to get along with?
- Am I prompt?
Surviving the work days is a dance between answering these questions and reminding yourself that sometimes, you can’t provide positive answers to all three at the same time.
5.Dear marketers, please stop stencilizing my life By Veronika Palovska
Pain points are one of the cornerstone techniques of the copywriting and marketing worlds.
I’ve lost count of how many well-intentioned copywriting guides and courses talk about emphasising the pain points of your target audience then offering your product or service as the magical balm that will make all things better.
But have we considered how we make our target audience feel? I’ve seen evidence of this tactic being used on countless online businesses with (I’ll like to think) good intentions.
ESPECIALLY in their opt-in forms.
“No thanks, I don’t want more traffic”
“I don’t want free stuff”
“I rather stay stuck at my 9–5”
It feels like negging — the technique popularised by pickup artists to make the target feel inferior and shamed.
It makes your target audience feel like crap. Do you really want to be that person?
“But as a marketer, I know that they’ve just made a sale while ruining their brand in the process. Because as a human being, I know that I’ll never forget who made me feel like crap — even if their solution does make it better in the end.”
Instead of fear-based messages, Veronika suggests to create urgency using ethical, empowering messages.
6. How I Got More Done, Reduced Stress, Increased Focus, And Mastered Time Management In 10 Minutes A Day By Josh Spector
I’m reminded of this saying — “show me your calendar and I’ll show you your priorities.”
Josh Spector “scheduled every minute of my work week for the past two weeks and was blown away at the impact of doing so.”
I balked as I was reading this.
What about unscheduled interruptions or sudden changes to your schedule? Does such a rigid system work? Will this work better than my To-Do list? After reading about his experiences though, I’m going to be trying it for both my personal and work lives.
“A schedule allows you to do a quick check and compare new work to what else you have to do as opposed to just being reactive and working on whatever comes from the person who yells loudest.”
7. Filmmaker and photographer Zika Liu on Instagram
I fell in love with the moody, low-key way Liu captures people and travelogues.
Check out his use of stills and videos on his Instagram Stories (especially the Iceland one).
I like the way he combines different perspectives (up close, different angles and a wider view into a single story panel for gorgeous, captivating storytelling.
Each week, I compile 7 articles, videos or other thoughts from books and write out my thoughts on them. Want to get them as they’re released? Follow the publication! You can have a look at the previous editions here.
