Gotta love a writer who can summarize his creative process in succinct metaphor.

“I’m a dancer who walks for a living,” says Michael Erard in a recent New York Times essay on the creative process. He has a day job — he is a ‘think tank researcher.’ But on the side, he writes for fun and profit.

His two best pieces of advice are useful for anyone seeking to craft messages.

• Note what catches your interest — especially if it represents a style approach very different from yours.
• And when you are immersing in your own creative process, really immerse! Turn off your social media and news feeds, and shut down your email.