Coaching the Artist Within: Advice for Writers, Actors, Visual Artists, and Musicians from America's Foremost Creativity Coach

by Eric Maisel

Creativity Coaching Essentials shows people how to become more effective creators by guiding them through 12 self-coaching lessons. Eric Maisel, a leading creativity coach, writes each lesson with a novelist's flair, as a narrative complete with examples, exercises, and questions to help readers explore and reflect on underlying issues that may be keeping them from pursuing their urge to create. Topics include committing, planning and doing, generating mental energy, achieving a centered presence, becoming an anxiety expert, upholding your dream, and maintaining a creative life. Maisel has worked extensively with creative people — poets, filmmakers, novelists, dancers — and he revisits some of them in coaching sessions in San Francisco, Paris, London, and New York. Typical are the rock musician who wants to pursue a solo career and the screenwriter anxious to become a poet. Their examples both entertain and instruct, outlining how to discover one's personal muse — and the motivation to keep creating.

Genres: Writing, Art, Nonfiction, Self Help, Reference, Business, Psychology

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 18, 2005

About the author

Eric Maisel, Ph.D., is the author of more than 40 books in the areas of creativity, coaching, mental health, and cultural trends. He is a psychotherapist and creativity coach, and writes for Psychology Today and Professional Artist Magazine and presents workshops internationally.

Reviews

[Barbara Conelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coaching The Artist Within is the first book by Eric Maisel I've ever read. Recently I've been very interested in the obstacles, challenges and bumps in the road that artists generally face, and I find this book fascinating.


The book is divided into twelve chapters. Every chapter deals with one creative roadblock, such as being centered, committed to the creative process, dealing with anxiety or planning your creative endeavors. In every chapter you find a personal story of one of author's clients (Eric Maisel is a creativity coach who works with artists around the world).


The advice Eric shares in his book is, without doubt, very valuable, and helped me understand my own creative process in a much deeper way. But what I most appreciate about the book are the stories.


When facing challenges, artists often feel that they are stuck and alone, while others are able to create rather effortlessly. It's interesting to read about authors from different parts of the world and from different creative areas, who struggle with the same challenges, no matter how famous or successful they are. Artists are a very specific species, and it's very relieving to know that a best-selling novelist has the same fear and doubts as a novelist hoping to get her first book published.


I recommend the book to every artist who wishes to understand herself better, overcome the hurdles she's currently facing, and receive the support of Eric's expertise and wisdom, as well as be inspired by stories of fellow creative souls.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading a number of books dealing with the themes tackled in COACHING THE ARTIST WITHIN: artist fears, doubts, anxiety, blocks, stalled projects, etc. Maisel's book is a wonderful addition to my growing keeper shelf of books to reconnect with when the creative life becomes too much to bear, when I wonder why I bother at all, and when I start to think I'd be better off making widgets on an assembly line.

Maisel addresses the issues all artists face with plenty of compassion, but he doesn't sugar-coat the important issues, either. He makes it abundantly clear that hard work is needed to succeed, and he's not afraid to give artists a good kick in the behind to get them moving again. Perhaps most important of all is the way he encourages each of us to become our own creativity coaches. Empowering and motivating, COACHING THE ARTIST WITHIN is a must-read for anyone struggling to find meaning in his or her creative work. (A)

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about being your own self-coach. Eric Maisel shares 12 principles for living the creative life. Maisel has coached writers, artists, actors and other creative people. He shares stories from his coaching experience to illustrate his key points. Coaching is a very new field of endeavor and creative coaching is even newer. I recommend this book to anyone interested in coaching and/or creativity.

[Dee Renee Chesnut · Rating 5 out of 5]

C-Completely Stop
E-Expect Nothing
N-Name my Work
T-Trust Resources
E-Embrace the moment
R-Return with Strength
CENTER

[Aberjhani · Rating 5 out of 5]

It turns out that Coaching the Artist Within by Eric Maisel is not the kind of book that you read, reflect on how much you enjoyed it, then stick it somewhere on a shelf of favorites. For writers, actors, artists, musicians, and others who are serious about their creative pursuits, it's the kind of book that you keep within reach to help you more fully understand the nature of what you're dealing with as a creative artist.

Too many who place themselves on the perilous path of some form of creative artistry as a profession tend to fall deeply in love with the creative part of the work while neglecting other equally important areas of it, such as maintaining inspiration, obtaining funding for projects, remaining true to creative ideals, and balancing the artistic with the practical.

In short, Maisel provides in very lucid and entertaining prose, information, concepts, and inspiration for the average creative artist to apply to his or her life in such a way that it makes a significant positive difference.

Aberjhani

[Rachel Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting creativity book. While I enjoyed reading it and did learn a number of new things, this was more theoretical than get-your-hands-dirty. Too many exercises involved journaling about the chapter topic, and the instructions for creating a life purpose statement were very shallow compared to other sources (Steve Pavlina comes to mind). On the other hand, I love (and now use) the CENTER mantra and I like his focus on living a meaning-driven life. This is worth a peek, although it isn't a life changing creativity book.

[Sylvia Whitman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of coursework at the Therapeutic Writing Institute.

To me, amazing books come in two forms. With one, I think, Wow, I would never have thought of that. With the other, I think, I could have told you that (but, of course, I didn't). Coaching the Artist Within is the latter. I didn't know Eric Maisel, so I had rather low expectations. At best I thought I'd get some tips for dealing with "those artists" out there. Little did I suspect that it would be so directly applicable to my own creative life. "Every silly, stubborn, resentful, prideful, self-sabotaging bone in our body starts quivering in the presence of marketplace players." He's got my number.

I feel as if I've been in a monthlong AA meeting. Hi, I'm Sylvia, and I'm full of anxiety. There's a lot of overlap in self-help--deciding that your life matters, taking responsibility for what is in your control, getting a grip on your mind, replacing self-injurious thoughts with affirmations, tapping what generates mental energy, coping in the middle of things. "Every day is an opportunity to have some success."

"Every unpublished manuscript is a problem, a tragedy, a waste, a dirty little secret. It is also part and parcel of the creative life." It wasn't until I started writing seriously that I realized 1) how many years it takes to produce a manuscript that a reader can polish off in an afternoon, and 2) how unrelenting the rejection is. Nonwriters have no idea how often the steamrollers flatten us. And yet we get up again.

[Ginny Kaczmarek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some compelling, hands-on techniques to support yourself in whatever creative endeavor you want to pursue. I especially liked the anxiety busters: how to spot when you're defeating yourself and what to do to move forward creatively.

I was a little put off by his vision of the artist-as-manic-depressive...as a good thing! I believe that creating art can be done in a healthy way that doesn't require manic episodes (or drugs or alcohol). That seems such an old-fashioned, outdated way of looking at creativity. True creativity ought to support, replenish, and benefit the artist, not tear her to pieces. This book seems to advocate for both, yet its supportive techniques seem interesting enough to try.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

With 12 chapters built around 12 skills for every artist/writer who wants to be an effective self-coach, this book is kind, truthful, direct, helpful, and hopeful. I can see how anyone who puts these principles into practice will have a productive and meaningful creative life. I especially liked the chapters on "Creating in the Middle of Things" (which we all must do) and "Planning and Doing."

[Cathy Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Eric Maisel's books. This one was inspiring, motivating, and validating. I would recommend him to anyone wanting insight in his/her creative process or support on the creative path.

[Aspen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good tips and tools here.

[Laura Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a “self-help” style book. Has a few good insights. I didn’t do all the exercises, hard to say if it (without practicing) will do me any good :)

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4 good tips, glad I read it, I don’t know how much staying power it will have compared to other similar books of this kind

[Eline Pullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not finish this book, not really my cup of tea.

[Darius, Let's Sandbox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric Maisel is the father of creativity coaching, a prominent thinker/commentator on the themes of creativity and its cultivation, also an author of over a dozen books. His book 'Coaching the Artist Within' is a useful and practical guide for both an experienced and an aspiring creative. It teaches how to coach yourself to discover your life's purpose, learn to create in the midst of chaos and handle such common creative life challenges as fear, doubt and procrastination.

My favourite chapters were on defining life's purpose and making meaning. In fact, I borrowed both terms, further developing them on my blog:

http://letssandbox.com/2014/06/23/dec...

[Quincy Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide for creatives of all levels and disciplines. Maisel does a remarkable job unpacking the everyday forces (both internal and external) that block artists from reaching their full creative potential. Each core philosophy is paired with practical examples, making the concepts in the book feel both accessible and immediately applicable.

Rather than offering vague advice or encouragement, Maisel invites artists to take action now, grounding his advice in real creative struggles. This is the kind of book that deserves a permanent place on any artist’s shelf.

It's one you’ll return to again and again as you continue to navigate the mental and emotional terrain of the creative life.

[Djrmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maisel has a pretty cool job, coaching and teaching people to coach writers, painters, actors and other creative types. He's written a lot of books about what stops us from creating, how to get deep down to the part of us that doesn't judge our work before we ever set pen to paper, and most importantly, that creation is Work. It's not magic, it's not a "either you have it or you don't" ability, and it's not easy. Coaching the Artist Within covers all the roadblocks, self made and external, that we allow to get in our way so that we don't have to do the work. I've got several of Maisel's other books, but this is the one that speaks to me when I need a kick in the butt.

[Sarah White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric Maisel bills himself as the nation's foremost creativity coach and, in fact, the founder of the field. His books guide creative people who may be stalled out to discover what's holding them back and to do the work that needs to be done.

This book guides readers to do the work of a creativity coach for themselves, offering lessons and steps that need to be taken to become a person who creates passionately and purposefully. It takes a lot longer to do than the time it will take to read the book, but the lessons will stay with you and hopefully teach you how to talk to yourself so you can get your creative work done.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not love this book but it certainly gave me something to chew on. It's quite interactive and I definitely did not follow the activities. The activities and advice are interspersed with stories of Eric's experiences as a creativity coach which I found pretty interesting, though at one point I had to set the book aside for quite a while and come back to it, because I was losing interest. I think if you truly need this book, it could be revolutionary, but I found that a lot of what he had to say I already understood. It definitely got more interesting/challenging towards the end for me.

[Tanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reading this just before we left for Paris and didn't finish it but what I did read was GREAT. I plan to buy this book but instead bought another one by this author first.
Anyone that has a creative job or is a creative person would get a few tips from this book. This helps you get organized and help yourself.
This author's slogan should be "help me help you".
This book was seriously more helpful than therapy.

[Therese Gilardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

eric's books are like a comforting word in the ear. having said that, the whisper here goes on a little too long, and i feel this book ends on an inappropriate note - it seems to disavow all of the previous chapters. but eric is still the father of creativity coaching, so i've got to give him a four.

[Schmarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an extremely helpful book. I learned so much about my personality type. I think so many others could benefit as well. Even though the title is, "Coaching the Artist Within" it's really geared to a person who is a creative thinker. Obviously the creative thinker audience is much larger than the artist audience.

Such an easy read. It was hard not to highlight the whole book!

[Amanda Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a LOT out of this book. It's already helped me out quite a bit not just in helping me stick with creative projects, but in helping me figure out what exactly I what to do with my life in general.

Highly recommended!

[Jerry Hardesty · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting concept - being your own creative self-coach. I only gave it 3 stars as it contained a number of mental exercises (some using paper and pencil), and I sometimes feel these type of exercises ineffective.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting - I thought there'd be practical advice on how to be more productive, but it was very self-helpy: here are a bunch of ways you can psych yourself out of working, without even much advice on overcoming those challenges.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Songwriters, artists, writers - READ IT - use the "Creativity Tool Kit" to manage what you create and reach your goals for creating/practicing every day to get to be the best you can, manage anxiety about what you create and so on

[Annabel]

A gestalt psychology approach. Good!

[Tara Betts]

Basically, a self-help book for artists of all kinds. It's good in terms of revisiting why we create and how do we handle the pressures of a creative life.

[Bobby · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not the book I hoped it would be. Maisel is a bit pretentious for my taste.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just plain not-as-good-as The Artist's Way, and with some odd yoga exercises mixed in at random.