Squibs, Twyla Tharp edition

The following is a sample of things written in my notebook last July either directly from or inspired by Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit. (See also: The big post of book recommendations.)

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Creativity is an act of defiance: Why do I have to obey the rules? Why can't I be different? Why can't I do it my way?
And creation is an act of destruction or abandonment: Something must be cast aside to make way for the new.

"Without passion, all the skill in the world won't lift you above craft. Without skill, all the passion in the world will leave you eager but floundering. Combining the two is the essence of creative life."

Big ideas come by piecing together little ideas.

The important thing is not what the author or artist had in mind to begin with but at what point he decided to stop.

"Trust the unconcious rush, and let it be awkward and awful and wrong, because you can piece it together and improve upon it later."

Test for whether you truly understand something: Can you explain it to a 10 year old?

"Genius is the act of perceiving similarity among disparate things."
Genius is not replicable. Inspiration, though, is contagious, and multiform.

"Growth depends on two things: The people you meet and the books you read."