Daily Rituals: How Artists Work

by Mason Currey

“My characters just won’t do what I want them to,” he would explain.

Then I go for a swim. Swimming gets me going as nothing else can, and I need to do it at the start of the day, otherwise I will be deflected by busyness or laziness.

I sometimes fall asleep, or into a deep reverie, lying on my couch, and this may put my brain in an “idling” or “default” mode. I let it play with images and thoughts on its own; I come to from these altered states, if I am lucky, with energy renewed and confused thoughts clarified.

I have an early dinner, usually tabouli and sardines (or if I have company, sushi), and play music (usually Bach) on the piano or a CD.

He would begin by doodling in pencil while he let his mind wander; his usual method was to “just sit there and think about the past, kind of dredge up ugly memories and things like that.” Once he had a good idea, however, he would work quickly and with intense concentration to get it onto paper before the inspiration dried up.

“I would feel just terrible if I couldn’t draw comic strips,” Schulz once said. “I would feel very empty if I were not allowed to do this sort of thing.”

“When it all comes together, a creative life has the nourishing power we normally associate with food, love, and faith.”

It is a danger to wait around for an idea to occur to you. You have to find the idea.