Instead of waiting for inspiration to strike, Charles Dickens used discipline, exercise, and structure to produce genius.
The much-beloved writer Charles Dickens has been widely hailed as the greatest Victorian novelist. He was the Victorian equivalent of a rock star, going on tour around England and internationally, enjoying
greater popularity during his earthly years than any prior writer had.
But like many
other great artists, Dickens did not stumble into his fame and success by accident. It was the result of conscious effort, discipline, and a well-balanced daily routine—combined, of course, with once-in-a-generation genius and native talent. The results were awe-inspiring and continue to captivate readers in all the
150 languages into which his work has been translated.
Inspiration Follows Discipline
Dickens treated his creative work like any other job: He was punctual and kept set hours. He didn’t wait for the muse to shower him with inspiration or for the right mood to strike him like lightning from the sky before taking up his pen. Such a romantic view of the creative process would likely have hindered his work. Dickens knew that, often, inspiration comes after knuckling down to work, not before. It joins the writer as a traveling companion only after he has begun the journey of the day’s writing quota.
