A few years ago, I ran across this list in Brainpickings, and was immediately smitten. The list was written by Sister Corita Kent, and can be found in her book Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit.

I was smitten, and provoked. Ever since coming across that list, I’ve kept my own list of Rules & Reminders to Myself. It’s a living document; every time I start a new notebook, I rewrite it. This past semester, I had my creative writing students cobble together their own Rules & Reminders over the course of the semester. I can’t show you theirs, but here’s mine. The rules are about writing, but most of them apply to making anything, really. 

If you want to show me your Rules & Reminders, I’d love to see them!