The author asked Leonardo.ai for a 15th-century Flemish street scene and was stunned by its period-accurate detail and contextual richness. AI partnership isn't tool use—it's like dancing with a semi-autonomous partner who has their own moves. Layering prompts compounds details beyond their sum. Real creativity requires abandoning rigid control over outcomes while maintaining process discipline. Most creatives resist this, protecting an illusion of control that was never real anyway.

The author rejects outlining as "busy work" and advocates "start anywhere and just get on with it." Drawing from Arthur Ashe's wisdom and mindfulness meditation's concept of equanimity, they embrace beginning where you are, using what you have, doing what you can. Unlike professional architecture work, writing can happily abandon expertise and authority. They reference Fernando Pessoa, who wrote prolifically without seeking publication or financial rewards.

The author celebrates Pessoa's naked commitment to writing without seeking perfection or publication. After fifty years of eclectic reading, they experienced a decade-long creative drought until discovering "The Book of Disquiet" during the pandemic. They draw parallels between Pessoa's fragmentary masterpiece and Humphrey Jennings' "Pandaemonium"—both posthumously assembled collections that defy categorization. Pessoa became their long-sought gateway, inspiring their next creative departure.