Daily Rituals: How Artists Work

If you are a writer or an artist of any size or sort, and you are curious about what are the routines other writers and artists (of any size or sort) established to help them achieve fame, fortune, and all the other things that writers and artists—perhaps secretly, perhaps not—hope for...If this is you, then this is your book.

I've read it all, and let me tell you, there's no one True Way to Make Art. Some work at night; some work in the day. Some organize their workspace down to the location of their pencils and pens; some work in any available space. Some work crazy-fast; others barely produce anything each day.

That seems to take the pressure off, somehow. And it's really fun to read about all the ways these folks work.

I found it very inspiring to see how people were able to get things done despite having serious challenges in their lives. The general lesson is: don't wait for inspiration, just put in the work every day, even if it's just a few hours.

the book makes you realised how fcked the routines for “classical masters” were. the amount of booze and cigars and whut not. one key takeaway was, popular to the current hustle culture messaging – you don't need to wake up super early to be “successful” or “creative”. this book also shares story that reinforce the idea of “working deligently day in day out” >> “random bursts of creative genuis” love that! 

I read this one after I read the second, Women at Work , and while this one was enjoyable I found it less relatable and enthralling. This is not the author's fault, of course, but I found the women's routines to be more interesting, as they had more daily responsibilities to juggle and more obstacles and challenges to face. So many of the male creatives in this book could have their chapters swapped around without anyone noticing - their routines were all so similar. Wake up, have breakfast brought to them by their servant/wife. Then they create, socialize, drink while someone else does their daily work. The only exception to this seemed to be Glenn Gould who was framed as some type of aberration and misanthrope, due to his antisocial night-time errands, despite a full page detailing his lengthy calls to his many friends.

I was also surprised and disturbed by how many of the authors and composers seemed to have a routine that involved nudity for no apparent reason. Not to mention the one guy who literally wrote while groping himself for “creative stimulation”.

One thing I did find unnecessary was the inclusion of Woody Allen. Not only was his chapter utterly boring, but I didn't think that there was any point in including a pedophile's daily routines.

Of course, all of this is just a reflection on the routines themselves, not the author's skill. His books are engaging and entertaining and I find no fault in this book.

I have finally cracked the secret to becoming a creative genius -

* Take amphetamines whenever you want to be in an “artistic zone”
* Smoke no less than 50 cigarettes a day
* Take Valium to help you sleep for a couple of hours
* Die in your 30's and be remembered ever after

Hurray to me!

About the book: Daily Rituals is an entertaining and illuminating collection of the daily routines of great minds and artists. Including the work habits of people such as Jane Austen, Ludwig van Beethoven and Pablo Picasso, it offers insights into the best ways to maximize efficiency and prevent writer's block, as well as tips on how to get by in the creative world.

About the author: Mason Currey is a magazine editor and freelance writer. His work has been published in The New York Times and Slate.

My highlights:
Drugs and stimulants allow artists to work longer hours – or just to relax. corydrane, a popular concoction of amphetamine and aspirin.
Finding inspiring surroundings is important for creators. daily routine: waking at 4 a.m., working for five or six hours, running or swimming in the afternoon, then listening to music and reading before falling asleep at 9 p.m.
Connecting with the body is a popular way to free the mind. while walking that he had his best ideas

The format surprised me. It's really a compendium of one creative person's routine after another. Looking for patterns, gleaning insight from an artist's routine, or understanding the connection between an artist's routine and his or her productivity are exercises left to the reader.

I don't know why, but I can't get enough of these “daily routines of artists” books. This is a good complement to [b:Process: The Writing Lives of Great Authors 22877454 Process The Writing Lives of Great Authors Sarah Stodola https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411597737s/22877454.jpg 42442709] - where Process goes deeper into a smaller number of people's lives (and focuses exclusively on authors), Daily Rituals offers smaller sketches, almost vignettes, from a wide variety of artists (authors are represented, as are architects, composers, painters, musicians, etc.)I think I'm equally fascinated by the neurotic ones for whom the act of creation is a struggle and the muse difficult to reliably evoke (they remind me of myself) and by the ones who can work reliably (sometimes obsessively), day in and day out.

The rituals were interesting, but thought there would be a bit more behind it then just 2-3 pages on each person, no sort of commentary or analysis.

Interesting read! This is a compilation of blurbs about 150 different “artists,” which include painters, writers, scientists, politicians etc. I first skimmed the entries of my favorite historical figures, then went back to learn something new. Some patterns that seemed to be common across many artists and across all fields were: getting up early, keeping strict schedules for work time (if they weren't fitting it their art with another full time job), and taking walks(!). All and all, they were obsessive and systematic about their art. They did it with the mentality that they had to do it. It was work. They just loved it.

I only made it about 10% through the book before realizing this was not the book I wanted to be reading. It's a collection of habits about individual people with no analysis behind why they do what they do. That being said, this is probably for the best, since I wouldn't trust the author to make such an analysis.