I’ve been staring at a blinking cursor on my screen trying to figure out what to write for the last 10 minutes. Actually, I have been trying to come up with a topic all day. This is strange for me. I am usually full of ideas. Maybe this is a good opportunity to talk about inspiration and creativity. Sometimes it’s there, and sometimes it’s not… so when you can’t seem to get yourself started what do you do.

When it came to writing this blog post, I just plopped myself in front of my computer and forced myself to write. This act allowed an idea to eventually/organically spill out of my fingertips. I only needed to let my thoughts work themselves out. Through the process of writing the (almost) one hundred posts on this blog, I have inadvertently been developing and strengthening a muscle. Based solely on repetition: I have improved in my ability to examine and speak about my thoughts, my opinion and awareness of myself have become more firmly cemented in my consciousness, and I have begun to develop a clear and distinguishable voice through the writing medium. This transformation would be true in any profession, especially a creative one. Twyla Tharp (The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life) recommends that you create a routine for yourself that gets you ready to work every day… and you must get yourself to work every day. Creativity and Inspiration will come more frequently to you the more skilled you are.

It takes skill to bring something you’ve imagined into the world: to use words to create believable lives, to select colours and textures of paint to represent a haystack at sunset, to combine ingredients to make a flavourful dish. No one is born with that skill. It is developed through exercise, through repetition, through a blend of learning and reflection that’s both painstaking and rewarding. And it takes time.

So how do you get yourself ready to work? You must come up with a routine, and regardless of your fears and insecurities, upon completion of this routine you must force yourself to work. Like anything this is going to be hard at first, but with repetition it will get easier and easier – also you will get better and better with time. It might be a good idea to keep a journal that follows the integration of this new habit into your daily life. As an artist it is your duty to work on your craft every day without fail. Be accountable to yourself, and to your growth as a creator.

 Keep in mind that not everything you do during your “work time” is going to be gold. This time is as much about making mistakes as it is about making discoveries. In her book, Twyla Tharp said that in a two hour choreography session she may use 5 minutes of work. This will be true for you too. I may spend two hours working on a chapter in my book, and in the second draft end up rewriting the entire thing.

It’s only important that you start, and what better time to start than today?