The List
Because who the hell wants to live inside an echo chamber?
Hello there, and welcome to something I’ve been thinking of adding to the Finishing School cavaclade of ramblings for a little bit. A reading/watching/listening list of some cool stuff that is somewhat related to the nonsense I’ve been writing about.
The last thing I want is for Finishing School to be an echo chamber and lemme tell ya, I don’t have all the answers…I’m just trying to figure this stuff out as I blunder creatively along. One of the things I try to do along the way is look for inspiration from others on how to get stuff finished or come at creating things from a different perspective.
So, I thought I’d start popping up one of these lists every so often to share the things I’ve found, and hopefully you’ll find them interesting, useful, or at least something to do instead of punching lizards. Please stop punching lizards.
Sweating the Small Stuff on Purpose
In newsletter Six: Sweating the Small Stuff on Purpose I was looking at the potential for regular, bite-sized projects to help keep me positive and motivated during the longer projects. For me, this usually involves drawing.
Chris Piascik has some fantastic videos on illustration, some of them surrounding the practical aspects of illustration, others about how he navigates ADHD as a creative professional. For this list, though, I recommend this video, as it’s a great example of how committing to regular, smaller projects can take you to unexpected places.
The Pursuit of Boredom
Newsletter Eight: The Pursuit of Boredom, about how boredom is both fertile creative land and a skill worth building was a pretty tough write for me. Not giving into distractions is genuinely uncomfortable. But, I think it’s definitely something worth exploring.
On the same topic, this is a really interesting read by Elle Hunt in The Guardian about the power of boredom. It takes a slightly different angle, offering some advice at the end about how to avoid boredom. There’s also interesting scientific perspectives by psychologists James Danckert and John D Eastwood, who wrote a book Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom, which I’m gonna check out.
Fuck It, Ship It
In Seven: Fuck It, Ship It I wrote about Ira Glass’ theory of the Gap. I’m not gonna repost the interview with him about this subject, as it’s in the newsletter and it’s been pretty well covered elsewhere. That said, Ira Glass really has some excellent advice on creativity and storytelling. One of the things I find quite refreshing about his take is that it’s important to make a lot of things (even crappy things) and finish them, while also recognizing that you need to be patient with yourself as you’ll always be growing and learning. Finishing stuff is not primarily about productivity, it’s about trying new things and finding your distinct perspective.
With that in mind, here’s a great video with Ira Glass about finding your creative voice.
Onto the Next Thing…
Probably best to keep this first list short, there are things to be finished and I wouldn’t wanna drown you in nonsense…this week. Next week, I might slather you in linkable goodies and throw you to the crows. They’re hungry, they need your chewy, chewy morsels.
Thanks for reading and — as always — I’d love to hear your thoughts on this list, on Finishing School, and…yeah, sure, punching lizards. Drop a comment below! It’d be really helpful, too, if you could follow the Victorian hand to the Share and Subscribe buttons.
