Try This One Framework if You Are a Creative Newbie.
Build your credibility by being a struggling newbie.
I’ve only started writing online this year. I paused for a few months because it was getting difficult for me.
But why was it getting difficult?
Because most of the time, I’m trying to be someone I’m not.
In my head, I’m trying to be an expert, when in reality, I’m still trying to learn and figure things out that I don’t even know about myself.
That’s the reality right there, that I will forever be a student.
The fellow-pupil can help more than the master because he knows less. The difficulty we want him to explain is one he has recently met. The expert met it so long ago he has forgotten.
C.S. Lewis
With this in mind, I’m going to start approaching creativity with a different lens.
Show Your Work!
Showing your work is a concept that was introduced by Austin Kleon in his book, Show Your Work!
Showing your work is about learning or creating something new, and then sharing your process to your audience. It’s so much easier than claiming to be an expert, more personal, too.
Obviously, we need experts to teach us new things, but there’s something different about a newbie sharing what he or she just learned unashamedly.
There’s something more relatable about someone who’s in the struggle of learning something new, and it’s more human.
Here are three ways that you can start sharing your work today:
- Write about what is inspiring you
Quotes, movies, TED Talks, podcasts, and more. What exactly is piquing your interest and why?
- Write about the progress of your project or learning journey
When you share about this progress, write as though you’re speaking to a friend. This is about documenting your journey, so don’t worry about being perfect. Just get it out.
- Share your final product
Summarize your big trials and how you overcame them. How would you do the project differently for the next time? Again, share this as if you’re speaking to a friend — because you wouldn’t want your friend to make the same mistakes you made, would you?
Here’s one great thing about this framework: you’ll progressively get better at what you’re doing by sharing, while building an audience in the process.
You’ll build your credibility by simply doing and sharing.
So start embracing being a newbie, and share your work!
