Quotes about Creativity

The only items you get to keep are love for the work, will to finish, and passion to serve the ethical, creative Muse.

Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it. If we were born to paint, it's our job to

You become an artist once you start saying that you are an artist.

Improvisation is not a wild scramble at the last minute. You are not pulling plans out of thin air. Improvisation is the payoff of scrupulous preparation and drill.

When an idea pops into our head and we think, "No, this is too crazy," … that's the idea we want. When we think, "This notion is completely off the wall … should I even take the time to work on this?" … the answer is yes. Never doubt the soup. Never say no. The answer is always yes.

Remember, the Muse favors working stiffs. She hates prima donnas. To the gods the supreme sin is not rape or murder, but pride. To think of yourself as a mercenary, a gun for hire, implants the proper humility.

A pro views her work as craft, not art. Not because she believes art is devoid of a mystical dimension. On the contrary. She understands that all creative endeavor is holy, but she doesn't dwell on it. She knows if she thinks about that too much, it will paralyze her. So she concentrates on technique. The professional masters how, and leaves what and why to the gods.

To labor in the arts for any other reason than love, is prostitution.

The inner critic? His ass is not permitted in the building.

Genius is a Latin word; the Romans used it to denote an inner spirit, holy and inviolable, which watches over us, guiding us to our calling. A writer writes with his genius; an artist paints with hers; everyone who creates operates from this sacramental center. It is our soul's seat, the vessel that holds our being-in-potential, our star's beacon and Polaris.

Stay stupid. Follow your unconventional, crazy heart. If your notion violates every precept I've set forth in these pages, tell me to go to hell. Do what that voice says.

This is the other secret that real artists know and wannabe writers don't. When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.