Need a Better Creative Process? Vic Mignogna’s 6 Things to Do

Without looking it up, try to guess the average age at which authors publish their first book. Is it 20? 22? 25?

Later than expected at 28? None of the above, actually.

You’ll get slightly different answers depending on which samples you’re looking at, but multiple studies suggest the typical first-time author is well into their 30s, and maybe even their 40s, according to EZ Pub. The point is, if your creative process isn’t where it needs to be to produce work you deem worthy of a wider audience, you have more time to improve it than you might think.

Especially if you take notes from prolific, multifaceted artists like Vic Mignogna, whose acting, singing and songwriting career spans more than three decades. Here’s what Mignogna and other talented, successful artists have to say about creative productivity.

1. Find and Embrace Your Best Medium

You can do a lot as a creative, but you can’t do it all. Successful artists like Vic Mignogna encourage you to find your true talent or talents, and then go all-in on them. “I learned as a young person that I had a knack for singing, writing music, and voice acting, so I pursued them all,” says Mignogna. If you don’t feel you can master more than one medium, don’t worry about it. Find what you’re best at and go for it.

2. Focus on What Makes You Truly Passionate

“Chances are, you already know what your passion is — you just need to connect with it,” says Tony Robbins, noted life coach and motivational speaker.  This is job number one after you find the best outlet for your talents. To perform at the highest level, you should do something you absolutely can’t wait to get up for in the morning. For example, if you’re a guitar virtuoso who loves country music but not heavy metal, you’ll probably be more successful at the former than at the latter.

3. Figure Out Whether You Work Best Solo, Collectively or Both

Some creatives work better in groups. They’re great bandmates, screenwriters, and comedy group members, to name just a few possible occupations. Other creatives work better alone or in occasional collaboration. They might do better as novelists, solo musicians, voiceover artists, and the like. There’s no right or wrong answer, only what you find most enjoyable and effective for your own creative process.

4. Don’t Let the Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good

Many creatives also happen to be perfectionists. Maybe it comes with the territory. If this describes you, try to dial it back a bit. Trying to make everything perfect the first time around is a one-way ticket to writer’s block.

5. Look for Inspiration in the Everyday (And Record It)

Some of the world’s most prolific and best-known creatives make no secret of their ability to find inspiration in everyday experiences. Vic Mignogna, for example, has been vocal about the very down-to-earth inspirations for his most recent works; you don’t have to look far to find other examples.

6. Seek and Embrace Constructive Criticism

Finally, don’t shy away from criticism. Yes, it might sting, but if it’s given in good faith and taken seriously, it can and will make you a better artist.

Find Your Inner Star

If you need any more encouragement that honing your creative process can pay off in a big way, just look at some of the past winners of big-time musical competitions like Eurovision or American Idol. These contests are renowned for plucking talented people from obscurity and turning them into household names, like ABBA (Eurovision 1974) and Kelly Clarkson (American Idol 2002). You might never win Eurovision or American Idol, or any other internationally televised contest. But if you refine your creative process and embrace your inner star, you’ll go farther than you ever imagined.