zlacker

You're completely spot on about consistency. I was told long ago that when practicing guitar (scales, ideas, etc) it's important to actually focus on the activity, not just half-way paying attention while watching TV or something. The focus made the connection, and from there growth and results came forward. After 20+ years of guitar, not as my source of income, granted, I gave the Eric Clapton method (myth?) a try: Put it down for 6 months. That was really refreshing. Callouses come back.

Also, totally a personal experience thing, but I've tended to favor music creation when in "cheerful" head space (usually summer) and gravitate more toward writing projects when in "downer" like conditions (usually winter). They barely overlap, and the pattern has taken me years to notice, but it's there. I've frequently felt like creativity in my realm is not often controllable, but more like an eruption to be harnessed. Thus the discipline and "making time" for hobby-like efforts in the creative realm is where the real effort and hang-ups tend to happen for me.