Even when creative work is solitary, it is influenced by others, either directly or indirectly. Different kinds of relationships help different stages in the creative process. Weak ties – contact with people at the edges of our networks, those we don’t talk to often, are best for idea generation. On the other hand, strong ties – contact with people... See more

in our professional lives we hear a lot about staying focused. Yes, but not to the exclusion of openness. You don’t know what will be for you what calligraphy was for Steve Jobs. Source of inspiration from an interest unrelated to your focus.

When they are frustrated, ask students what they would say to a friend if they described going through something similar. Chances are they would not tell a friend they simply need to be better.

There will be obstacles or dead ends. Ideas will change as we develop them and we will have to revise and edit (more than once!).

Picasso was inspired by objects he collected, such as art by his contemporaries or African masks, and a long-running correspondence with Henri Matisse. Salvador Dali was inspired by science, early on by psychology and psychotherapy that were emerging at the time and later by nuclear physics. He was deeply engaged in these fields, subscribing and... See more

self-compassion, which can take off the sharpest edge of frustration

Creative process is not linear.

I too have to edit my writing and that editing and revising is not diagnostic of an inability to write well.

Ideas do not come from a vacuum. Inspiration comes from drawing on different interests.