New Delhi, June 10 -- Few quotes about creativity and productivity have endured as strongly as Octavia E. Butler's observation: "First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable."

The line, drawn from Butler's essay Furor Scribendi and later reprinted in her 1995 collection Bloodchild: And Other Stories, continues to resonate with readers decades after it was first written. In a culture that often celebrates moments of inspiration and sudden breakthroughs, Butler offered a more practical and unsentimental perspective on how meaningful work is actually accomplished.

In the same passage, Butler explains that habit sustains a writer, helps finish and polish stories, and turns persistence into practice. Her message was clear: inspiration ...