Both Austin Kleon and Lori May discuss how important kindness is to a writer as a member of their literary community. Both agree that it's crucial to play nice.
This seems like such a simple thing, but again, there's that question of how. How can one show kindness towards their literary community? Lori May, in her book The Write Crowd, says that "one small kind gesture can provide a smile on someone else's face for the rest of the day; one tiny nod of support can make another feel like all the downs are worth the ups." (149) Whether it's simply tweeting about an author you love or encouraging a writer not to give up on their exhausting novel, we as writers can uplift and help our pen-wielding comrades.
Kleon says it nicely in his book Steal Like An Artist - "Make Friends, Ignore Enemies." Yes, there are those lacking in the kindness department. There's something about the Internet that often robs people of their human decency. The trick is not to let those waves of negativity sink your spirit. Pay no attention to the bloated blogs and the turbulent tweets that mock and deride. Do like Ron Burgundy:
I've particularly enjoyed reading Kleon's works on creativity. He's got a delightful tone and some keen insights. And among all his recommendations for writers looking to better their craft and dip a toe into their literary community, I find "Be Nice" his greatest piece of advice.
As writers, we like to put our work (our good work) out after we've smoothed out its edges and polished it until we think it shines. Do we have the same standards for ourselves? What part of ourselves do we offer to the people around us? Are we sharing smiles, kindness, support - our personal pearls - or are we recoiling from the chance to do goo?
Write that letter to your favorite author. Tweet that review of the book you loved. Encourage somebody to write that poem they're always talking about. And whatever you do, don't go around putting people down or posting hateful comments.
Kleon quotes Kurt Vonnegut to help him drive this point home:
"There's only one rule I know of: You've got to be kind."
All images are property of their respected owners. Special thanks to giphy.com for providing ungodly amounts of entertaining little animations. Harry Potter, Ron Burgundy, and Adventure Time are all awesome and you should watch them.
