field notes on being a creative [pt. 1]

I think that being an artist ultimately is about searching for a kind of freedom, a freedom of spirit, and a freedom in making. The moment when that is possible comes at different times for different people. You should never give up, because being an artist—there’s no one path to it. It’s not like some other fields. If you’re an artist, you’re alwa... See more

Accessing childlike spirit in our art and our lives is worth aspiring to. It’s simple to do if you haven’t accumulated too many fixed habits and thoughts. If you have, it’s very difficult. Nearly impossible. A child has no set of premises it relies on to make sense of the world. It may serve you to do the same. Any label you assume before sitting d

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I feel like I say this to a lot of people, especially aspiring fiction writers. In my experience, it is really important to do two things.

One: You have to train yourself to notice things. It's not 100% natural at first – it certainly wasn’t for me – but raising those antennae is a very worthwhile thing to do. And it snowballs: once I got started ta... See more