There are three defining features of inspiration. It starts with evocation. People are usually inspired by something, whether it’s a role model, teacher, experience, or subject matter—this could be as significant as a full-on crystallizing experience or as everyday as noticing an eye-catching photo on Instagram.

Next comes transcendent awakening—a moment of clarity and an awareness of new possibilities.

correlated with creativity: plasticity, divergence, and convergence.

In their observations of children building and playing with objects, the researchers saw that the children were often deeply engaged in searching for personal meaning as an ongoing process of understanding themselves and their relationship to the environment. For children, play becomes a way of experimenting with the meanings of objects by using

Creative people are hubs of diverse interests, influences, behaviors, qualities, and ideas—and through their work, they find a way to bring these many disparate elements together. This is one of the reasons why creativity feels so ineffable—it is so many different things at the same time!

Shelley H. Carson, author of Your Creative Brain,

People who engage in a creative lifestyle—perhaps by drifting off in daydreams, taking photographs just for fun, talking passionately about personal goals, writing thoughtful cards or letters to friends and family, keeping a journal, or starting their own business—tend to be more open minded, imaginative, intellectually curious, energetic,

These characteristics come into play during the two broad stages of the creative process: generation—in which ideas are produced and originality is sought out—and selection, which involves working out ideas and making them valuable to society. While characteristics associated with plasticity and divergence are most relevant when generating ideas,

For many artists—particularly writers—this crucial “tissue of experience” comes from youth, and the ability to access a deep well of early memories and emotions can facilitate their creative work.