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Creativity and Creative Careers

Art and design

Holds books on creative habits, the creative process and running a career or studio as an artist or designer.

24 books on Creativity and Creative Careers, recommended by 35 people including Nat Eliason and Mohnish Pabrai.

24 books · 35 experts

Start here

  1. On Writing: A Memoir of the CraftStephen King, 1999
  2. The War of ArtSteven Pressfield, 2002
  3. Daily Rituals: How Artists WorkMason Currey, 2013
  4. The Creative Act: A Way of BeingRick Rubin, 2023
  5. The GiftHafiz, 1983

The best books on Creativity and Creative Careers 24

On Writing: A Memoir of the CraftOn Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
T3 On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King · 1999
King's memoir of craft applies as directly to screenwriting as to fiction. His argument that story comes before plot — that you discover what a story is about by following characters rather than outlining — sits in productive tension with the structural approaches of McKee and Snyder.
Open Library
“King's account of how he developed as a writer — the reading, the practice, the editing — is one Graham has cited in essays about writing clearly. He values King's insistence that good writing is mostly about removing what doesn't need to be there.”Paul Graham
Recommended byNat EliasonJason CalacanisPaul GrahamSam Parr
The War of ArtThe War of Art
T3 The War of Art
Steven Pressfield · 2002
Pressfield's book on resistance applies with particular force to musicians, where the gap between technical facility and creative output is often enormous. The concept of 'turning pro' — treating creative work as a practice with professional discipline regardless of whether it pays — is the mental shift that separates hobbyists from people who actually finish records.
Open Library
“Steven Pressfield's short book on resistance appears in nearly every Ferriss conversation about creative work. He has given it away repeatedly and quotes the concept of 'Resistance' — the internal force blocking creative output — as a frame he uses constantly.”Tim Ferriss
Recommended byMohnish PabraiNat EliasonAlex and BooksAli AbdaalAna FabregaAnn HandleyAntonio García MartínezBrian Koppelman+6 more
Daily Rituals: How Artists WorkDaily Rituals: How Artists Work
T3 Daily Rituals: How Artists Work
Mason Currey · 2013
Mason Currey's portraits of how artists actually structure their days — Beethoven counting exactly sixty coffee beans, Glenn Gould's nocturnal sessions, Stravinsky's requirement for a daily constitutional before composing. More useful than it sounds: the book normalizes idiosyncratic work patterns and illustrates that there is no single formula for sustained creative output.
Open Library
Recommended byNat EliasonPatrick CollisonDavid Kadavy
The Creative Act: A Way of BeingThe Creative Act: A Way of Being
T3 The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Rick Rubin · 2023
Not a how-to book. Rubin's meditations on creativity are deliberately non-prescriptive — he is describing a posture toward work rather than a process. For musicians, the sections on surrender, on listening to the work rather than imposing on it, and on the difference between taste and judgment are particularly sharp. Best read slowly, one or two fragments at a time.
Open Library
Recommended byEric Jorgenson
The GiftThe Gift
T4 The Gift
Hafiz · 1983
Open Library
Recommended byMatt MullenwegTim FerrissStewart Brand
The Grace of Great Things: Creativity and InThe Grace of Great Things: Creativity and Innovation
T4 The Grace of Great Things: Creativity and Innovation
Robert Grudin · 1990
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
Zen in the Art of WritingZen in the Art of Writing
T4 Zen in the Art of Writing
Ray Bradbury · 1990
Open Library
Recommended bySusan J. Fowler
The Artist's WayThe Artist's Way
T4 The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron · 1992
Open Library
Recommended byBrian KoppelmanTim Ferriss
CreativityCreativity
T4 Creativity
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi · 1996
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick O'Shaughnessy
Orbiting the Giant HairballOrbiting the Giant Hairball
T4 Orbiting the Giant Hairball
Gordon Mackenzie · 1996
Open Library
Recommended byJohn Maeda
The Most Amazing ThingThe Most Amazing Thing
T4 The Most Amazing Thing
Robert Grudin · 2001
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good YouIt's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be
T4 It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be
Paul Arden · 2003
Open Library
Recommended byRan SegallCasey Neistat
Design Is a JobDesign Is a Job
T4 Design Is a Job
Mike Monteiro · 2012
Open Library
Recommended byJordan Hughes
Infinite CreativityInfinite Creativity
T4 Infinite Creativity
Silvia Hartmann · 2012
Open Library
Recommended byEv Williams
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
T4 Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
Austin Kleon · 2012
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiAlex and BooksAli AbdaalChase JarvisJake Knapp
Burn Your Portfolio
T4 Burn Your Portfolio
Mike Janda · 2013
Open Library
Recommended byJohn D Saunders
Show Your Work!Show Your Work!
T4 Show Your Work!
Austin Kleon · 2014
Open Library
Recommended byAli AbdaalChase JarvisJohnnie Gomez
Keep GoingKeep Going
T4 Keep Going
Austin Kleon · 2019
Open Library
Recommended byRyan Holiday
Pocket Full of DoPocket Full of Do
T4 Pocket Full of Do
Chris Do · 2020
Open Library
Recommended byJohnnie Gomez
Book of Ideas
T4 Book of Ideas
Ramin Malinic
unverified
Recommended byRan Segall
Design Your Work
T4 Design Your Work
Tiago Forte
unverified
Recommended byNat Eliason
Freelance, and Business, and Stuff
T4 Freelance, and Business, and Stuff
Amy, Jen Hood
unverified
Recommended byJohnnie Gomez
The Doodle Revolution
T4 The Doodle Revolution
Sunni Brown
unverified
Recommended byTony Hsieh
Uncommon Genius How Great Ideas Are Born
T4 Uncommon Genius How Great Ideas Are Born
Denise Shekerjian
unverified
Recommended byGuy Kawasaki

Experts 35

The people who wrote this page's books, and the people who recommend them.

Recommenders 35

MP
Mohnish Pabrairecommends 4 books here
NE
Nat Eliasonrecommends 4 books here
AA
Ali Abdaalrecommends 3 books here
JG
Johnnie Gomezrecommends 3 books hereTim Ferrissrecommends 3 books hereRyan Holidayrecommends 2 books here
AA
Alex and Booksrecommends 2 books here
BK
Brian Koppelmanrecommends 2 books here
CJ
Chase Jarvisrecommends 2 books here
RS
Ran Segallrecommends 2 books herePaul Grahamrecommends 1 book hereGuy Kawasakirecommends 1 book here
Show all 35
AF
Ana Fabregarecommends 1 book here
AH
Ann Handleyrecommends 1 book here
AG
Antonio García Martínezrecommends 1 book hereCasey Neistatrecommends 1 book here
DK
David Kadavyrecommends 1 book here
DP
David Perellrecommends 1 book here
DS
Derek Siversrecommends 1 book here
EJ
Eric Jorgensonrecommends 1 book hereEv Williamsrecommends 1 book here
JK
Jake Knapprecommends 1 book hereJason Calacanisrecommends 1 book here
JD
John D Saundersrecommends 1 book hereJohn Maedarecommends 1 book here
JH
Jordan Hughesrecommends 1 book hereMarie Forleorecommends 1 book hereMatt Mullenwegrecommends 1 book herePatrick Collisonrecommends 1 book here
PO
Patrick O'Shaughnessyrecommends 1 book here
SP
Sam Parrrecommends 1 book hereStewart Brandrecommends 1 book here
SJ
Susan J. Fowlerrecommends 1 book hereTony Hsiehrecommends 1 book hereTucker Maxrecommends 1 book here
See all 35 in the Experts tab →

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