Practicing our art is more comfortable than not practicing our art. Practicing our art is more fun than not practicing our art. Something more comfortable and more fun does not take "discipline." It takes permission, self-permission. I don't write to be hard on myself. I write to be easy on myself. I write because it feels good.

When it comes to practicing our art, we are trained to self-consciousness, trained to performance anxiety. We can un-train ourselves. We are all, naturally creative, and we can all practice our creativity.

The best way to practice our creativity is what's comfortable, wearable, easy, fun for us. I wear my writing like an old pair of Chinese silk pajamas. I like it loose and easy. My friend Alex suits up to write. He likes it structured. He goes to an office. What matters is that each of us must find our own style. Some of us are morning writers, painters, composers. Some of us work on our art late at night. Some of us watch the clock. Some of us count pages. Some of us love crowded cafes, some love quiet libraries. The point is to get comfortable and give yourself permission to play.

It doesn't matter how you do it. It matters that you do it.