the idea that creativity is combinatorial, that nothing is entirely original, that everything builds on what came before, and that we create by taking existing pieces of inspiration, knowledge, skill and insight that we gather over the course of our lives and recombining them into incredible new creations.

It reminds me of writing and how I wake up week after week and get stuck on the blank page again and again. How I always despair that I have no more good ideas and, even if I did, not enough eloquence to convey said ideas. But I love it still. I love how writing brings everything to the surface, how it generates and absorbs my attention. How it

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The only reliable ways I've found to maintain this vitality are collecting inspiration and writing. I notice that a certain pressure builds up inside me when I am not writing enough. Writing helps me unearth and resolve the self-sabotaging stories living inside me and helps me regain my creative confidence. Collecting inspiration charges my... See more