Presented below is a thought from me on writing, a quote from someone else on writing, an excerpt from that writer, and a discipline/habit to implement…
We will be focusing on being a collector today.
A Thought
We should always be collecting ideas from the world around us. From what we hear, see, taste, smell, and touch. It is then, we will have a deep well to draw from when putting pen to paper.
– Austin Alford
A Quote
“The artist is a collector. Not a hoarder, mind you, there’s a difference: Hoarders collect indiscriminately, artists collect selectively. They only collect things that they really love.”
– Austin Kleon (Author of Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going)
An Excerpt
Austin Kleon (Page 13-14 of ‘Steal Like an Artist’)
“There’s an economic theory out there that if you take the incomes of your five closest friends and average them, the resulting number will be pretty close to your own income.
I think the same thing is true of our idea incomes. You’re only going to be as good as the stuff you surround yourself with. My mom used to say to me, ‘Garbage in, garbage out.’ It used to drive me nuts. But now I know what she meant.
Your job is to collect good ideas. The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by.”
A Discipline/Habit to Implement
Do you have a place or system to collect ideas?
A virtual notes page?
An analog note book?
The palm of your hand? (Don’t do that, not enough space!)
Choose your method and stick to it! Use it as your second brain, your external hard drive.
Don’t burden your brain to remember all the ideas that come to you. Have a method of collecting! And if you have one and it hasn’t worked, change it… switch it up…
Remember, your job is to collect ideas!
Put Pen to Paper this week and have fun!
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