Another Reason to Read
Inspiration
It never fails when I visit top art museums or top art galleries in NYC, I come away energized, inspired, and excited to make new art myself. It’s not that I want to make a copy of what I saw (even if I could). I just want to make! Make! Make! Make!
Making is an energy that builds and snowballs inside me when I see good art. The creativity is contagious, bouncing from one artist to another, across mediums and cultures. It’s powerful and not easily defined, but when it hits, wow, it can knock me into an incredible adventure, off into forms and techniques I never before considered.
It’s the same when I read a novel or poem by a Master of the writing craft. Just this week, I started reading yet another novel by Roddy Doyle. (Thanks again to Junot Diaz for the recommendation.) Doyle is a Master of writing, able to create tension in the most casual conversation and break your heart in a single sentence. This novel, A Star Called Henry, has me spellbound from page one, and I’m only 1/4 of the way into it. As a reader, it’s such a delight to be taken into a book’s world. As a writer, I am in awe, wondering as I read how he is doing this and marveling at his skills. In short, I’m joyful when I read a great novel. Seeing that one exists, knowing that it’s possible, gives me hope that someday I’ll be able to write a great novel, too. Beyond an example of writing techniques, it’s the pure inspiration I get to write, which is another reason for me to read.
Some writers, especially those transferring from non-arts-related fields or new to writing, get discouraged when they read great works. As justification, Ira Glass is quoted about “that thing” when we start out to learn, but know that we are not very good and won’t be good for a long while. I get it, it’s discouraging if you’re unable to create the end product you envision. But being an artist, writer, or craftsperson is not about the final product. It’s a process that encompasses your life. I’m here to say it doesn’t have to be discouraging. I believe it’s an approach we choose, like choosing to see the glass as half-empty or half-full. It’s a mindset. You can choose half-full. You can choose to be inspired rather than discouraged.
I made the choice long ago when I was in jewelry school, feeling competitive with fellow students and finding my joy of working metal dimmed by jealousy. That’s when I realized there will always be someone quicker, with grander ideas, than me, but whoever that is, that person isn’t inside my experience when I’m in the creative flow, when I’m making. That person has nothing to do with me or my art. The Arts themselves are not a competition (even though the business side of the field can be).
Speaking of great art, did you ever notice that the most masterful of the arts always have an original “voice” and a distinct style? This is inspiring, too. It means the most important element that will enable us to make great art is already inside us, before we learn any techniques. The Arts welcome us all on equal footing. Isn’t that inspiring?
This Is Not About is written by Ada Austen, the author of Better Late Than Never, a multicultural second-chance romance set on the beaches and boardwalks of the New Jersey Shore. It is the New Jersey Romance Writers 2021 Golden Leaf Winner - Best Book by NJ Author.