Twyla Tharp

What makes it a ritual is that they do it without questioning the need.

There are no “natural” geniuses.

The great ones never take fundamentals for granted.

No matter what system you use, I recommend having a goal and putting it in writing.

Solitude is an unavoidable part of creativity. Self-reliance is a happy by-product.

As Freud said, 'When inspiration does not come to me, I go halfway to meet it.'

I know it’s important to be prepared, but at the start of the process this type of perfectionism is more like procrastination. You’ve got to get in there and *do.*

Don’t drive yourself to the point of being totally spent. Try to stop while you have a few drops left in your tank, and use that fuel to build a bridge to the next day.

When you’re in a rut, you have to question everything but your ability to get out of it.

Discipline. Everyone needs it. No explanation required.

It’s vital to establish some rituals—automatic but decisive patterns of behavior—at the beginning of the creative process, when you are most at peril of turning back, chickening out, giving up, or going the wrong way.