Caitlin’s Creative Business Bookshelf - Episode 12: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
It's the final episode of the first season of Caitlin's Creative Business Bookshelf, can you believe it? I have had so much fun recording this and sharing each week with you, I hope you've enjoyed it too.
And for this final episode and the final book of season one, we're examining Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and my conflicting feelings on it!
(Please note that my podcast mic didn't pick up properly during the recording of this, so the quality isn't as good as usual!)
Episode transcript:
Hi friends. It's the final episode of season one. Oh my goodness. I'm so sad that it's over for now, but so happy to have been doing this. I have learned so much through recording these episodes for you for the last few months and I hope you've enjoyed listening to them too. Please, I haven't said this on any of the other episodes, I always forget, but please, like, leave a review if you can shower with a friend who you think would enjoy because I would love to get this to as many ears as possible. This has been a really fun thing to do and like a new creative process for me to engage in. So if you're also a creative person listening to this, which I'm guessing you probably likely are, this is just like an encouragement for you to just go out and give something a try because you never know what will happen. I've had so much fun doing this and it has been a very healing experience to put something out in the world without worrying that it's too perfect to share, if that makes sense. I've left my UMS, in in some of the episodes edited, most of them outlined, but I've taken most of them out and yeah, I haven't worked off the script for most of it.
I've just kind of gone off my intuition, off my nudges, which has been a challenge, but also really rewarding. Really rewarding. So if you're listening to this and if you take nothing else away today from this episode, this is just encouragement to go out and do the thing and don't worry about if it looks perfect, if it looks perfect or not, because I've put this out every week for twelve weeks. It hasn't been perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I've still had so many kind words about it and so many people getting in touch to let me know they've enjoyed episodes and things like that. It blows my mind. So thank you to you, dear listener, and go and create your thing. Go and do your thing. Okay, let's get into it. The final book for this season. We are talking today about Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. And what's the subtitle of this book? Creative. Living beyond fear. This is a book that I think if you like, Google Creativity Books, I would be very surprised if this didn't come up in a Google search result. This is pretty much the book about creativity, especially, obviously, because Creative Living is literally mentioned in the title.
In case you somehow are not familiar with Elizabeth Gilbert, she was responsible for Eat, Pray Love, which was an absolutely massive book, obviously the film to go along with it as well. I've not read it, actually, and I know she's quite a prolific writer, but I think this is the only book by his I've read. I have mixed feelings about this book. I don't know why I've left it for last when I'm like, I'm not sure. The book essentially is a long pep talk on how to live creatively and how to kind of move past the blocks that stop us. So obviously, mainly that's kind of tied up in fear. And I did notice a lot of parallels in how The Artist Way, which was a book we talked about on the podcast a few weeks ago, and this kind of talk about creative fear and how to move past those barriers and those blocks of just being too scared to put out something. So I did notice a lot of parallels there. And throughout the book, Elizabeth Gilbert draws on her personal life. She talks about the journey she's gone when writing books. She talks about anecdotes from her life and things like that to illustrate the point that creative living is for all of us and we can access it if we want to, but also that creativity is a very scary thing to engage with, which I definitely would 100% agree with.
I think it can be very scary to put our heads above the parapet and live creatively because it looks different for everybody. And I think, as well as looking different for everybody, I think a lot of it requires us leaning into parts of us that we've had to kind of temper down and we've kind of had to push down. For example, if we're making any kind of if we think about traditional art as an example, obviously there's still a lot of stigma around being the poor artist, which, again, I think is discussed in the artist's way, definitely. And in this book as well, potentially, I think. And that art has come from suffering. That if you make art, you can't make money, you can't be successful, you're going to be plagued by this, that and the other, and it will just be, like, bad for you, which is like the art born out of suffering. Saying, I definitely, definitely disagree with I don't think that's true. I get why people say it. I understand as a concept where it's come from, but also, I definitely don't agree with it. So I think that's like a motivator for people not wanting to engage with their creative sides, I think.
And also, it does require us to be very brave when we're maybe not doing something that's like traditional, when we're doing something that's a bit wild, that requires us to get a bit vulnerable, because engaging with our own ideas of creative self expression is extremely vulnerable. And I think nowhere is that more obvious to me when we run businesses, because that requires a lot of vulnerability from us a lot of the time. And I think even the most like bro marketing person out there would probably agree. It requires a lot of bravery to stand up and say, I'm doing this not because someone else has told me to do it, but because I want to do it and I'm taking a step out of the traditional nine to five. This is how you earn money, this is how you work, this is how you put food on the table and stepping away from all that and doing something completely different that probably doesn't even make sense to like the average person, right? So I definitely agree with that. However, I am not a huge fan of this book. You think there is a lot of good stuff in that.
I like the way that Elizabeth Gilbert writes for the most part. And let me just get this straight, by the way. This isn't going to be an entire episode like Dunking on this book, like trashing it because I'm not about to try and start beef with Elizabeth Gilbert. I just want to get that on record. But I think it's emblematic. Emblematic? Emblematic of a problem I have with a lot of books about creativity in that it's so vague and it talks about creativity in this real wishy washy way, which I think creativity can be. But also and I've touched on this on the podcast before, I know, but there's that real balance in creativity and creative living between the creativity and the actual practical living of it. It's why I talk about having hobbies a lot, because I think being able to see a physical manifestation of creativity is really, really helpful and also is what's going to encourage us to do the thing. I think if you were already someone who thinks of themselves as very creative and maybe is an artist for a living or does do something that creativity like is their living and they're already kind of in touch with that side of themselves, as I imagine some of you listening to this probably are.
I think you'll get a lot out of this book because the pep talk contained in it is very good and very engaging. And I think there are some parts of the book that are quite powerful and that are really reflective and really loving and gentle and kind. There are things about this book that I do really like. There are some quotes that I've saved from the book because I think that it really encapsulates it. I think that if you are having difficulty accessing your creativity and accessing the curiosity and listening to the intuition that comes with it, this is like a nice book to read. I didn't dislike reading it, but like I said, I just think it's a little bit emblematic of the issue I have with a lot of books around this topic where it kind of can come across as a lot of stuff and not much practical support in getting there. So, for example, obviously Elizabeth Gilbert talks around the blocks around Getting Started and things like that. And obviously a lot of it is advice like follow your curiosity, et cetera, et cetera. But if we're not sure what that actually is, and maybe thinking about some practical ways we can start to do that, or encouraging the reader to think about, well, what could curiosity look like?
What could following those nudges mean to you? Another thing I'll say as well is that if you're someone that's even remotely put off by woo woo or more spiritual language, this is not the book for you at all. And again, I say that with love. I know a lot of people who really love this book and who really got a lot out of it and there are definitely parts of it I enjoyed as well. But yeah, I just think there are some elements of this book that I'm like, oh my gosh, I wish this was more kind of like firmed in reality. I wish the book was like a little bit shorter. I wish it was a bit more like concise and a bit more like punchy. So for example, at the very start, the book opens with what is creativity? And it's described as the relationship between a human being and the mysteries of inspiration, which I do fundamentally think, oh yeah, that makes sense to me, I understand that. But I think that a lot of the book is kind of focused on inspiration, like divine nudges and things like that. And I did bring this up when I talked about the Artist way, but I think that obviously in that book, julia Cameron had put a massive caveat on the fact that look, I am going to be talking about spirituality in this book.
Please replace the word God with source energy, whatever you want to call it, just whatever is relevant for you, which I definitely found helpful, even as kind of a partially spiritual person myself, but not that there has to be caveats for that kind of thing. And I think if you are reading a book called Big Magic, then I think hopefully you kind of have a feeling of what you'd be like letting yourself in for. But yeah, I don't know, I just found this book a little wishy washy in places. I kind of wish it was a bit more practical, a bit more because she obviously acknowledges the fact that creative living does look different for everybody. Creative living is kind of up for interpretation. And I get that it is hard to write a book about something that is so up for interpretation because obviously that's the whole point of it, isn't it? And it's the struggle I find when I talk about creativity a lot is that it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. And my definition of it is not going to match your definition of it.
And that is wonderful and amazing and magical. And another example is that so Elizabeth Gilbert asks the question on which creative living hinges do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you? Again, I feel like like I just said, creativity is very much open for interpretation. But I do worry that sometimes when we talk about creativity in this way, it can be a little alienating for those of us that are more practically minded. And I've always sought to try and get that balance, that impossible balance, because I think balance is almost inherently impossible. But yeah, I don't know. I have complicated feelings about this book. I think, like I said, if you're someone who's read Elizabeth Gilbert's book before, who is used to talking about creativity in this way, then I think you probably will get a lot out of this. So I would kind of reluctantly recommend this on the thing that I think within the 30 pages, you'll probably know if it's for you or not. And I think if it's not for you, please don't carry on reading because you'll hate every moment of it. I've actually read this book twice because I was so kind of conflicted about how I felt about it, because on one hand, you've got this really lovely, beautiful, pet talk that's really inspiring and that really was a feel good book to read.
Like, it's a feel good book to read, but also it's one that almost didn't quite push me enough, almost one that didn't kind of fire me up enough to get to doing the thing. It's a very nice book to read and it didn't fire me in places. And there are some really lovely quotes I've saved from it and some really lovely quotes that I have saved on my phone and things like that. Because I think overall, the way she talks about creativity is interesting and is feel good, but is it like awe inspiring? Is it like, fires me up as much as some of the other books I've talked about this season? I'm not sure it does. And like I said, I don't think it's a universal book. I think writing a universal book and creativity would be an incredibly difficult task to do. But there are some elements of the book that I'm kind of a bit like, yeah, I struggle to recommend this because I don't think everyone would necessarily get a lot out of it, but those are my thoughts and feelings on it anyway, subject to change. Like I said, I've read this book twice and at both times I've kind of been left with the feeling of I think I enjoyed that.
I think I got value out of it. And I suppose if you get value out of any book, whether it's the whole book or like a sentence, it's worth reading, I suppose, isn't it? But like I said, I recommend it with the caveat that I think there are better books on creativity and creative living out there, many of which I've talked about during this season of the podcast. I think if you are looking for a book that's not wound spiritual, avoid this like the absolute play, because I think it will annoy you. And some bits irritated me a little bit. There were some bits, I was like Liz, just stop. Just stop it, Liz. I did want to leave you, actually, because we are finally on, you know, we're on the final episode of the podcast. I did want to leave you with a quote from the book, actually, this very interesting, nice book, conflicting book. What a strange last episode I've left you on. I was curious to hear your thoughts about the book, actually, because I know a lot of people have a lot of love for this book. But also if you go on like Goodreads or Amazon or the story graph or like the Waterstones website or anything like that, reviews of this book are very, very mixed and it definitely led me to wonder, which is the question I've wondered for the whole of the podcast, what does a creative book look like?
What does a book on creativity look like? What could it look like? What does it need to have? How can it be accessible for as many people as possible? How can it take into account all the different things we go through societally? How can it appeal to as many portions of society as possible? Is that possible? And that's kind of the question I've been wondering for the whole of this season as we kind of look at creativity, its abstractness and things like that. But these are very big questions I've left you with. But I'm going to leave you for this final episode with a quote from this. Are you considering becoming a creative person? Too late. You already are one. To even call somebody a creative person is almost laughably redundant. Creativity is the hallmark of our species. If you're alive, you're a creative person. You and I and everyone you know are descended from tens of thousands of years of makers. The guardians of high culture will try to convince you that the arts belong only to a chosen few. But they are wrong and they are also annoying. We are all the chosen few.
We are all makers by design. Your creativity is way older than you are. Way older than any of us. Mic Drop, thank you so much for riding with me in this season of podcast. It's been amazing. It's been so much fun. I'll be back with season two later this year and yeah, wishing you a beautiful creative time. Please let me know what you thought of the podcast. You can reach me on Instagram at caitlin the Creative and you can also email me hello at caitlinthecreative co UK. I'll be updating, everybody, with more podcast news later in the year, probably, like, autumn time. And yeah, this has been great. This has been so much fun. Thank you so much for listening, and I'll catch you next season.
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