How to Write Like an Artist

Feel more connected to your work

This is just a fun title. There’s no rules to being an artist. That’s what makes artists artists. Anyway, here’s some things to consider, while you’re writing, that will make you feel more connected to your work as if it is a work of art.

Self Reflect

This is the cardinal rule. “Know thyself.” Self reflection helps you to be more understanding of other’s who are in similar situations. Self reflection is the entire point of artistry. Don’t get me wrong, people who don’t self reflect can sell great art because art sales is a business. But creating art, that’s not just business, that is creating and business. It’s both, it’s so much more than sales. Creating something timeless requires some understanding of our internal workings. Know yourself, know your art. They go hand in hand.

Know when to fuck what they say

With my first novel being experimental fiction, I’m all for bending the rules. I love movies that don’t follow standards. I love writers that don’t either. But there’s an art to it. Some things are worth listening to, especially if they are in line with your values. But experiment, try new things, listen sometimes, tell them to fuck off other times. There’s no real balance, we’re all learning here.

Meditate

Meditation calms my nerves and lets me see where my writing can take me. It refreshes my imagination and gives me peace and stability in myself. There’s something about meditation that beings me back to myself in the midst of chaos. It helps me focus on the right thing, my art.

Have a go to beverage

Red Bull, Tea, Coffee, Water, it has to be one of these. Your mouth doesn’t move while you write words, so you should have a beverage to give you a break from clenching your jaw. Ah, here’s a reminder, you can unclench your jaw now.

Resolve your biases

Any unresolved biases will come out in your writing. It might be in a subtle way like where you put characters in the workplace, or nicknames, or the way a character speaks. Resolved biases give us the chance to be honest with ourselves and our reader. This creates a strong connection. Works of art that connect with viewers in this way, draws them away from all the madness. We all could use those moments.

Journal

Journaling is an artistic thing. It keeps us connected to our work, it helps us flesh out problems, create new ideas, and let’s us know where our thoughts have left off. It helps with resolving biases, meditation, self reflection, and learning to know when to bend the rules. Trust me, journaling is worth it.

Write poetry (terrible or not)

Poetry is like cleaning the filter of your vacuum cleaner. It lets out the symbols, the rhythms, the metaphors and (un)conscious thoughts.

Make a fool of yourself

The best way to be an artist is to be afraid of making a fool of yourself and doing it anyway. It’s showing courage for the work you’ve put in. Get out there and bare it all. That act alone is considered foolish these days. Be yourself. Be so unapologetically you, that you get the taste of freedom just at the tip of your tongue.

Chances are, if you made it this far, you’re already a writer. You show commitment reading this entire article that doesn’t matter much anyway.

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