New York Times bestselling author Austin Kleon has been called one of the most interesting people on the Internet by The Atlantic Magazine, and he stopped by The Writer Files to chat with me about creativity and the writing life.   Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By   Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Austin is the author of three illustrated books — Steal Like An Artist, Newspaper Blackout, and Show Your Work! — guides I recommend to all writers seeking insights for tapping into your endless reserves of creativity and innovation. In addition to being featured on NPR s Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, and The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Kleon speaks about creativity in the digital age for organizations as varied as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. If you missed the first part of the interview, you can find that here: How Bestselling Author Austin Kleon Writes: Part One In the second part of this two-part file, Austin Kleon and I discuss: Is “Imagination” Overrated? A Simpler Definition of Creativity Why You Should Write for Just One Person How Minimizing Distractions Can Help Your Creativity Why Your Audience Is Your Most Valuable Asset Is Being Boring the Key to Productivity? The Importance of Being Great at Both Art and Life Why You Need to Pick Your Partners Carefully Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes Here s How Austin Kleon Writes AustinKleon.com Here s How Daniel Pink Writes Here s How Elizabeth Gilbert (Bestselling Author of Eat, Pray, Love) Writes Air Guitar: Essays on Art & Democracy by Dave Hickey Austin’s Interviews at BookCon 2015 Austin Kleon on Instagram Austin Kleon on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter The Transcript How Bestselling Author Austin Kleon Writes, Part Two Voiceover: This is Rainmaker.FM, the digital marketing podcast network. It’s built on the Rainmaker Platform, which empowers you to build your own digital marketing and sales platform. Start your free 14-day trial at RainmakerPlatform.com. Kelton Reid: These are The Writer Files, a tour of the habits, habitats, and brains of working writers, from online content creators to fictionists, journalists, entrepreneurs, and beyond. I’m your host Kelton Reid: writer, podcaster, and mediaphile. Each week, we’ll find out how great writers keep the ink flowing, the cursor moving, and avoid writer’s block. New York Time’s bestselling author Austin Kleon has been called one of the most interesting people on the Internet by The Atlantic magazine, and he stopped by The Writer Files to chat with me about creativity and the writing life. Austin is the author of three illustrated books: Steal Like an Artist, Newspaper Blackout, and Show Your Work!. In addition to being featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS NewsHour, and The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Kleon speaks about creativity in the digital age for organizations as varied as Pixar, Google, South by Southwest, TEDx, and The Economist. In the second part of this two-part file, Austin Kleon and I discuss a simpler definition of creativity, why you should write for just one person, how minimizing distractions can help your creativity, why your audience is your most valuable asset, the importance of being great at art and life, and why you need to pick your partners carefully. Is ‘Imagination’ Overrated? Austin Kleon: If I ever teach a class on imagination, I’m going to show House Hunters because imagination gets this very, “Oh, to have an imagination is this great skill and talent.” Look, imagination is something that Dave Hickey said. He said, “Imagination is just thinking of a door and seeing it in your head.” Imagination is simply the ability to make images in your head. When you watch House Hunters, these people come into these houses, and they’re like, “Oh God, I re