The Creative Habit: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of The Creative Habit, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Creativity is a habit
Tharp, a celebrated choreographer, argues that creativity is not a gift from the gods but a habit built through preparation and routine.
She describes how she works and how others can too.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
Rituals start the day
Tharp describes her morning ritual of getting into a taxi to go to the gym.
The ritual, she says, removes the question of whether to begin. In her account, a small fixed action makes starting feel like a normal part of the day.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Each project has a box
Tharp keeps a box for every project, filled with notes, clippings and materials.
It organises her research. In her account, the box holds everything a project has gathered so far, which keeps it from being lost.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Scratch for ideas
Tharp describes scratching, searching everywhere for small ideas that can grow into larger works.
In her account, a small idea found in a book, a street or a conversation can later become the seed of a large work.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
Skill supports creativity
Tharp argues that creativity needs strong skills built through practice.
In her account, a gifted person who has not trained in the basics cannot fully use their talent. Practice gives the control to try bold ideas.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
Find the spine
Tharp describes the spine of a work, the central idea that holds it together.
In her account, once the central idea is clear, every choice in the work can be tested against it.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Ruts can become grooves
Tharp distinguishes ruts, where work stalls, from grooves, where it flows.
She suggests ways to escape ruts. In her account, the difference is whether the creator is moving or stuck, and she treats a rut as a normal stage of making things.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Failure teaches
Tharp argues that failure is part of creative work and can be learned from.
In her account, each failed attempt shows what does not work, which narrows the path to what does.
Get one idea like this every daySwipe through ideas, go deeper on any of them, and save the ones that matter. Free.
Read The Creative Habit in the app