“A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether.”—Roy H. Williams
KING OF HORRORS
Stephen King, the celebrated author of horror, thriller, drama, and science fiction, has undoubtedly left a mark on the literary world of the 20th century. He rightfully earned the title “king of horrors” from the bone-chilling fear he evoked in his readers.
After nearly being suspended from his high school for writing a headline that teased his teacher, Stephen’s guidance counselor tried to redirect his writing skills to something more constructive. They offered Stephen a sports reporter job position working under an editor named John Gould. He reluctantly accepted.
John Gould set a tone of mutual respect that allowed Stephen to open up a bit more. He was patient with Stephen. Stephen didn’t know much about sports, and this was the first time anyone had offered to pay him for writing. The first piece Stephen wrote was about a local baseball game. When he turned it in, Gould took out a pen and went to work on it, circling and crossing out mistakes and suggesting edits. This moment was the first time someone took Stephen’s writing and showed him their thought process behind improving it. He pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of his work. In the end, the marked-up piece was a work of art. It was such a beautiful chaos that Stephen said it “deserves to be framed.”
Stephen learned to value constructive criticism and used it to improve his writing. He credits these editing sessions with Gould as helping him develop his writing style and teaching him how to write more concisely. He learned that to be successful, he had to be willing to put in the time and effort to apply these criticisms to develop his craft. In Stephen King’s book On Writing, he credited Gould with providing him the best writing education he’s ever received, saying, “I took my fair share of English Lit classes in my two remaining years at Lisbon, and my fair share of composition, fiction, and poetry classes in college, but John Gould taught me more than any of them, and in no more than ten minutes.”
THE BEST WAY TO LEARN
In the realm of creative subjects, the type of education you pursue can have varying impacts on your creativity.
Take learning from a book, for example. While books can offer valuable insights and time-tested tactics, they are often laden with fluff, leaving you to sift through a sea of information to find the relevant nuggets. While learning from your mistakes is certainly useful, avoiding unnecessary mistakes is even better. Learning from literature struggles to answer one crucial question: What time-tested tactics are still relevant today?
Then there’s formal education, such as attending art, film, or culinary school. While this option can provide you with a solid foundation of techniques and industry standards, you risk falling behind as standards change. After all, by the time you’ve mastered the subject matter taught in school, the standards necessary to thrive in today’s world could shift entirely. This cycle will leave you working intensely on your craft for years, just to lift your head one day wondering how the world has changed so fast. Formal education lacks answering another vital question: What new-found tactics are the most important to learn?
Learning on your own is another viable option, and one that I highly recommend. You can experiment and get a grasp on your inner abilities and their relationship with the craft. You will learn a lot about the current state of the world, but you’d lack the answer to one important question: Where is the world going?
Now, there is one form of education that combines the best of each learning style: apprenticing under a master. While securing such an opportunity can be challenging, it’s well worth the effort.
Masters in their field don’t waste time on fluff; instead, they focus on implementing time-tested tactics optimized for today’s era. They possess a deep understanding of their craft’s history and seamlessly apply it to their creations. The tactics they use today are the tactics that will be taught in tomorrow’s textbooks.
QUALITIES OF A PERFECT MATCH
Choosing the wrong mentor can set you up for failure. If you trust someone to show you the ropes, but their knowledge is flawed, you will waste your time. It’s better to learn alone than to learn the wrong things from someone. Spend time validating who you choose to mentor you. The best mentor depends on your personal goals, but here are the five core qualities to keep an eye out for:
Mastery: Find a mentor who is considered a master in their field. When someone effortlessly knows the intricacies of the craft, they can guide you, too. If they haven’t achieved anything you consider notable or you desire for yourself, keep on searching.
Creativity: Find a mentor who can teach you to think outside the box, explore new techniques, and develop your unique style. If they try to force their style onto you, they will hinder your personal growth.