Thread by @personunsure

i've always been reticent to agree to creative schedules

i've always been scared to open up about my goals

i like to think i'll accomplish things on my own

but i need that encouragement and reinforcement

i've always felt that if i could just crack it once, if i could just finish one big project, i could become the kind of person who finishes things on my own

i've succumbed too many times to the myth of the independent creator. i keep hearing the story about a cabin in the woods where you wrote a whole novel. i keep dreaming of a month long sabbatical where i'll write that album

in real life, all the things i've ever actually completed came with structures, and trusting people with the process

so i'm thinking about two things

1. creative habits are everything
2. people who care about what you create are priceless

people who create, who really write, who really produce, are the people who sit down and do it regularly, whether they're having fun or not. whether they're "feeling it" that day or not.

the best thing i've read about this is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

creation is vulnerability. fiction, non-fiction, it doesn't matter. we can't create without placing little pieces of ourselves in the things we create

people who care about that process, and people who are willing to be present during, are priceless

you could never pay someone enough money to really care about the shards of your soul you're trying to express. and you can never know when those people will appear or disappear from your life

but being around those people is truly key in creating things. without that encouragement, without the structure, i just don't

so i'm learning to lean into it. i'm learning to enjoy schedules and habits. i'm learning to let people see into the process when it's only partway through and i'm not happy with it. i'm learning to find hope in criticism, because at least there's something worth criticizing

so find your schedule. find your habits. make something. make anything. show it to people. trust them. find the people who care and hold on to them tightly. support them, receive their support. create something wonderful together.