Maybe, being a creative is not how you think it is. Some of the time, maybe it is some genius that goes and meditates, and the ideas just come out. But most of the time, being a creative is nothing more than having a process, and putting in the work. Steal Like an Artist is about that. It is about how ideas are generated, collated – and “stolen.” Anyone who is interested in the creative process, or wants to be a creative, needs to read this book. Kleon’s website says he is a writer that draws. I love that line.

One of my favorite quotes:

The writer Wilson Mizner said if you copy from one author, it’s plagiarism, but if you copy from many, it’s research. I once heard the cartoonist Gary Panter say, “If you have one person you’re influenced by, everyone will say you’re the next whoever. But if you rip off a hundred people, everyone will say you’re so original!”

Buy this book.