Steal a little and they throw you in Jail. Steal a lot and they make you king.

 —  Bob Dylan

... but it didn't start that way.

As a young writer, how was I to know that originality was severely overrated.

What was I thinking? In my early career, I had a preoccupation with being an original writer and suddenly it was all called into question by something I read. 

I'm lucky because the themes and core subjects I wrote about earlier on were quite unique but I could see problems further down the road as truly original ideas are difficult to come up with.

Can you believe that it was a matter of pride for me? I was thinking; what kind of writer would I be If I wasn't a complete, unadulterated original.

Inexperience any one?

Like every thriving artist I shouldn't have been looking for originality and  flashes of inspiration but instead, I should have been stealing from my influences. As my DJ friend says everything is a remix; the origins of Reggae music play that out for all to see. But his statement is a profound one, even coming from him. The true skill in creativity is rearranging old material in fresh new ways.

Hence, A remix.

There were not many examples of authors doing what I wanted to do as a writer - thrilling stories of the fantastic from a black perspective. The ones that did exist  I emulated. The rest of the time I learned from the example of magnificent authors in my beloved genres of Sci-Fi Fantasy, Horror and Adventure. Pablo Picasso once said 'Good artists copy. Great artists steal.' It makes me chuckle but It's true.

I have to steal and not because I'm lazy and lack ideas for myself but because of the vast benefits of the merging of ideas especially from disparate sources. Thankfully in today's world, there  are ample opportunities to borrow ideas to remix and recombine.from the present and the past. The best writers and artist throughout history have done this. Nothing is original. It's just that the influences and sources that were used were not commonly known to the uninitiated. But these men and women  who they creatively borrow from, have a considerable impact on their work.

Austin Kleon wrote a bestselling book called  Steal Like an Artist that I highly recommend to you. Get it HERE. And in his book he compiled a list that would help his readers to Steal Like an Artist. 

• STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST.
  
• Don't wait until you know who you are before you get started.
  
• Write the book you want to read.
  
• Use Your Hands.
  
• Side Projects and Hobbies are Important
  
• THE SECRET - Do good Work and Share it with People
  
• Geography is no longer our Master.
  
• BE NICE - The World is a Small Town.
  
• Be Boring - It's the only Way to get Work Done.
  
• Creativity is Subtraction.

There’s such pressure to be original. Although that concept is A misleading one and  used as a cover for many to procrastinate. To be 'Original', you have to know your craft so well you can build and borrow from the work of the giants that came before and make it better. Not everyone will understand you but if your stealing enough you won't care

Peace, Love and Power

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