John Ashberry on the importance of routine for a writer, from Jill Krementz’s lovely little book, The Writer’s Desk:

It’s important to try to write when you are in the wrong mood or the weather is wrong. Even if you don’t succeed you’ll be developing a muscle that may do it later on.

I’m continually amazed at how much routine and inspiration depend on each other. The first is what writers depend on for their everyday production; but it also sets the stage for the second.