Constraints

My favourite part of Austin Kleon’s ‘Steal like an Artist’ is the below paragraph:

“The right constraints can lead to your very best work. Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat with only 236 different words, so his editor has bet him he couldn’t write a book with only 50 different words. Dr Seuss came back and won the best with Green Eggs and Ham, one of the bestselling children’s books of all time.”

I totally agree with Kleon when he says that the right constraints can help get you out of a creative rut.

When you’re tasked with writing a poem the world is your overwhelming oyster. But when I hand you a motor tax pamphlet and challenge you to write a romantic poem using only the words written on the pamphlet, it feels like an exciting challenge.

It very nearly feels like play.

To tack on a secondary benefit to Kleon’s insight, constraints also provide fantastic practice for living in the real world.

I reckon there are millions of filmmakers who could create an amazing film if given an unlimited budget, no deadline and first dibs on whatever cast they want.

But that’s not the real world.

The best filmmakers are the best because they thrive on the constraints.

You say your movie will cost 10 million to make? Well, the studio can only give you half of that.

A December release date would be nice and comfortable? Well, the studio have decided to release it in the Summer, so chop chop!

You think Tom Cruise or Leonardo Di Caprio would be perfect as your lead, well both of them are unavailable for the next 5 years. So, if you want to make your movie now, you’ll have to find someone else.