Be disciplined. Work hard. Be prepared to hear ‘no’ a lot and don’t care. My dad taught me an important lesson, which is to look at why someone does something rather than what they actually do. A lot of artists are making art because they they want to be cool and they want people to like them. That’s the wrong reason to be making art. Be prepared to have a lot of people not enjoy your work and have it not bother you; you should do it because you want to do it.

Inspiration is the great con of art. You want inspiration? Work harder the day before so you know where to start today.

So much of what happens in the world has to do with circumstances outside your control. All you can do is work as hard as possible to get ready when your turn rolls around. I don’t believe in God, but I do believe in myself, and in karma, and in having patience, and in working my effing ass off.

I love making the stuff, that’s sort of the core of it. I love creating the stuff. It’s so satisfying to get from the beginning to the end, from a shaky nothing idea to something that’s well formed and the audience really likes. It’s like a drug: You keep trying to do it again and again and again. I’ve learned from experience that if you work harder at it, and apply more energy and time to it, and more consistency, you get a better result. It comes from the work.

Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.

Inspiration is a word used by people who aren’t really doing anything. I go into my office every day that I’m in Brighton and work. Whether I feel like it or not is irrelevant.