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Danielle Krysa
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Your Inner Critic Is a Big Jerk: And Other Truths About Being Creative Kindle Edition

by Danielle Krysa (Author), Martha Rich (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 233 ratings
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This charmingly illustrated guide shares ten truths about creativity, confidence, and how you can silence that stifling voice in your head.

This book is a salve for creative minds everywhere, and duct tape for the mouth of every artist’s inner critic. Author and art curator Danielle Krysa explores ten essential truths we all must face in order to defeat self-doubt.

Each encouraging chapter deconstructs a pivotal moment on the creative path—fear of the blank page, the dangers of jealousy, sharing work with others—and explains how to navigate roadblocks. Packed with helpful anecdotes, thoughts from successful creatives, and practical exercises gleaned from Danielle Krysa’s years of working with professional and aspiring artists—plus riotously apt illustrations from art world darling Martha Rich—this ebook arms readers with the most essential tool for their toolbox: the confidence they need to get down to business and make good work.
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  1. Print length
    138 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Chronicle Books LLC
  5. Publication date
    October 11, 2016
  6. File size
    6347 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Danielle Krysa is the writer/curator behind the contemporary art website the Jealous Curator, and the author of Creative Block and Collage. She lives in British Columbia.

Martha Rich is a Philadelphia-based fine and commercial artist.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01FGWLJ42
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chronicle Books LLC; Illustrated edition (October 11, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 11, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6347 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 138 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 233 ratings

About the author

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Danielle Krysa

Danielle Krysa

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Danielle Krysa has a BFA in Visual Arts, and a post-grad in graphic design. She is the writer/curator behind the contemporary art site, The Jealous Curator (est.2009), and has curated art shows from Washington DC to Los Angeles, San Francisco to Toronto. Danielle creates her own artwork as well – mixed media collages which combine found images, paint, and as much humor as she can pack into each title. When she’s not in the studio, Danielle is writing books : “Creative Block”, “Collage”, and “Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk” were the first three, and her fourth book, "A Big Important Art Book - Now With Women!" is due to be released October 2, 2018. Danielle has also had the great pleasure of speaking at TEDx, PIXAR, Creative Mornings, CreativeLive, and was interviewed for several video segments on oprah.com.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
233 global ratings
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Very inspirational, exceeded my expectations. Highly recommend!
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Top reviews from the United States

Randall McCarley
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite art books - that I keep going back to!
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2022
Verified Purchase
I got the Kindle version with the Audible upgrade and I've listed to this book a few times and expect to keep listening to it. Great advice and truths. There's a bit of "check out my blog/other books" but not too annoying or pushy like other authors who are developing an ecosystem.

Here's the big deal about this book: it helped me to realize that my inner critic has never, ever paid a bill. And it won't. My inner critic is all about restriction, which is not helpful at all! It has no stakes or skin in the game. It needs to shut up and let me work!

This is a pretty quick read, that makes difficult topics easy to digest. And most important, it's helped make my art process more fun. Highest possible recommendation for creatives.
2 people found this helpful
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Susan
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth reading, and owning!
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2020
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This is a relatively short book, but very helpful!! It's particularly a good title to read if you're experiencing discouragement in whatever your creative endeavor -- she's a visual artist, but really, what she says is much more broadly applicable. I checked this title out of the library to read it initially and liked it so much I bought a copy, which I hadn't at all expected to do. That may be in itself the best recommendation I could give this book!
3 people found this helpful
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Claira Heitzenrater
5.0 out of 5 stars A great, quick read to help pull you out of the self-doubt slump
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2019
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Nothing makes an artist feel worse than allowing their inner critic to take them away from their work. This book helps pull you out of the funk and back to work with confidence! Along with the great info and inspiration, the illustrations by Martha Rich make for a wonderful read!
2 people found this helpful
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Аmazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Gift for writer
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2019
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My writer friend was overthinking her writing. It seemed a fun gift to remind her to work with the flow and correct later.
One person found this helpful
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Caitlin
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2019
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This book is great for any artist. It's a great way to motivate you when you are in a rut, hearing negative thoughts from your inner voice, or just procrastinating your work.
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Reader Kid
3.0 out of 5 stars this book could make a great gift for an artistically inclined 11-15 year old girl
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2017
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While I (an adult artist) found it fluffy and off-putting, this book could make a great gift for an artistically inclined 11-15 year old girl, or a college-aged young woman with tastes just slightly edgier than Live-Love-Laugh plaques. Great illustrations by Martha Rich and a few insights delivered amidst chatty teen magazine reminiscent writing. I was turned off by cutesy subheads and threw in the towel at the "Macaroni Masterpieces" and "Pancake Pictures" segments, but my aunt who teaches grade school and needs a little creativity pep talk will probably love it.
24 people found this helpful
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M.K. Brumbaugh
5.0 out of 5 stars Takeaways throughout. A BIG thumbs UP!
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2018
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I could not stop reading this afternoon. Start to finish.
These thoughts were well crafted, directly to creatives.
The good news is, the book confirms the roadblocks we all go through as artists. >>> Although MY inner critic kept telling me I'd better close the iPad and get back to work, I know this was time very well spent.<<<

My career has been in the design/illustration and fine art world for 45 years - varied and long enough to hit CREATIVE BLOCKS of every sort, description and typestyle. The book is a discussion of these walls and how artists get through them.

The bad news is, since you're here, you probably already know about being unmotivated, unproductive, out of ideas, disappointed or freaked out over your art . . . but DAMN, its so great to know we all experience it! None of us are alone.

Bottom line, you need to read this book.
Thank you, Danielle. Beautiful work!
11 people found this helpful
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Andrew
5.0 out of 5 stars It was a great read. There was quite a few times I ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2018
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It was a great read. There was quite a few times I was laughing, but the book is very relatable. It's perfect for any type of artist that is scared of the blank page, looking for inspiration, or just needs a good read. I would recommend this book to any artist.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Francisco martins
5.0 out of 5 stars Uma ótima adição a biblioteca de criativos.
Reviewed in Brazil on July 2, 2021
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Direto, simples e divertido, além de muito bem diagramado e ilustrado.
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Claudia Tlachi
5.0 out of 5 stars Recomendable
Reviewed in Mexico on January 15, 2019
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Amo mi libro. No necesito decir más. Compraría 10 más si mis finanzas así me lo permitieran
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Sun
3.0 out of 5 stars Besser ist es das Buch einfach zu überfliegen
Reviewed in Germany on July 1, 2018
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Das Buch ist in Ordnung - Inhalt und preis decken sich meiner Meinung nach jedoch nicht. Und das ist eins der günstigen Bücher die gebunden sind.

Es wird viel durch die Blume geredet, bringt Motivation aber leider saugt man auch viel an unnötiger Information auf. Sie erzählt zB dass sie sich anfangs große Gedanken gemacht hat, was ins Buch soll und wie sie bloß anzufangen hat. Aber das ist einfach eine unnötige Info die sich über eine Seite streckt.
Genau so die einigen Beispiele aus ihrem Leben - lassen sich nicht übertragen auf die Kunst. Man erfährt viel von ihr als Menschen aber in einem solchen Buch steht für mich eher die Kunst im Vordergrund. Daher der Abzug der Sterne.
4 people found this helpful
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Amanda Truscott
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, inspiring, and super-useful.
Reviewed in Canada on November 16, 2016
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Friendly, funny, and hugely helpful. Danielle Krysa makes a convincing argument for the creativity in each and every one of us, and she provides a ton of fun, easy-to-implement and practical advice for digging it out.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended inspiring book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2017
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I read over half this book in one sitting, something I never do - couldn't put it down as it is so well written. The advice is very practical & challenges the way you've been thinking about yourself and your work in a supportive way that urges you to stop with the inner & outer criticism to jump back into the joy of being creative without judgement. The book itself is beautiful, very tactile and the colour illustrations throughout are perfect.
I've read quite a few books on this topic but this is the only one that has made any real difference to me.
While it's mainly focussed on art, but does talk about writing, crafting, creativity in general. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to be creating but can't get past those pesky blocks. My inner critic is still a big jerk but I know how to deal with them now!
8 people found this helpful
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