Keep Going by Austin Kleon

Last week I recommended the book "Bewilderment" by Richard Powers, and if you saw it, you'll remember that I was actually halfway through it when I recommended it and that I had promised to come back and tell you a little more about the book.

Well, it turns out that right after I posted that recommendation, I went on a 9-days vacation. I took some paid time off from work, and since we weren’t traveling anywhere, I took advantage of the downtime to get ready for Thanksgiving with my family—and to finish that book. I couldn’t put it down. I just had to finish it because I was enjoying it so much.

I’ll tell you this: the book lived up to all the hype and my expectations. It’s such a powerful story about the love and relationship between a father and his son, with a strong environmental message about preserving the world for future generations.

I had concerns about how the book would end, especially since Robin, the boy, was undergoing a treatment to help him control his anger. I wasn’t sure how the author would wrap it up, and my concerns were justified—it was definitely not an easy ending. As a writer myself, I couldn’t think of a better way to finish the story, but it wasn’t an easy conclusion. That’s all I’ll say about it.

Now, moving on to this week’s recommendation. Since I was on paid time off and at home, I decided to read something that might help with a personal dilemma I’ve been facing for the last 11 months. At the start of the year, as part of my New Year’s resolutions, I set a goal to write two books. It was one of only two resolutions I made.

I had some false starts. I began writing two different books but ran out of steam after a few thousand words. I just couldn’t get myself to keep going and finish them. Recently, a good friend of mine challenged me to write two short books, each 10,000 words, with a specific format and a deadline by the end of the year. He doesn't know about it yet, but that pep talk we had reignited my drive to tell these stories that just refuse to go away.

As soon as I finished "Bewilderment", I decided to pick up a book that might help me achieve this goal. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I read "Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad" by Austin Kleon. I already owned the book, and it had been on my list for a while. I guess Austin Kleon, the author, is best known for his books "Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative" and "Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered".

"Keep Going" follows a pretty familiar format: ten chapters, each with a specific piece of advice. One of my favorite ideas from the book is treating every day as a new opportunity, like in the movie Groundhog Day where the main character gets to relieve the same day, every day. Another suggestion is to create a dedicated space or time for your creative work, whether it’s physical or mental, and just showing up to do the work instead of only talking about it.

The book provides simple and yet effective suggestions for overcoming creative blocks and finding inspiration in ordinary things. While none of the advice is groundbreaking, it serves as a much-needed reminder and motivator to keep at your craft. For me, the book was exactly what I needed after the pep talk with my friend. It reignited my inspiration, and shortly after finishing it, I came up with a new idea for a nonfiction book. I even created an outline with all the chapters mapped out. Now it’s just a matter of sitting down and writing.

I’ve set an aspirational goal to complete at least three chapters by the end of this week, the first week of December. My ultimate goal is to finish the book before the end of the month, ready for proofreading and editing.

Anyhow, the book recommendation for this week is "Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad" by Austin Kleon. If you’ve read it or plan to, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Drop me a comment and, as always, keep reading!