Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
By the time I finished this book, I've dog-eared about a dozen pages.
Now, I don't think this book unlocked an untapped potential or opened a metaphorical chest of inspiration in me. Really, what it did was gently encourage me to continue creating, to keep writing, to do this. The book consists of brief chapters (read: insightful Liz lessons) that shed light on the shitty things that happen when you put your work out to the world and why you must still do it.
My biggest takeaway was her chapter, Motives.
Nowadays, when people look to create content, they immediately have the end goal in mind: gain a following, find a niche, win the market. The simplest way to achieve those is by finding what the market doesn't have yet, "solving" something. However, Elizabeth argues that your art is not for them - your art is for you.
“I would prefer that you made your art in order to save yourself, or to relieve yourself of some great psychic burden, rather than to save or relieve us.”