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Peter H. Reynolds on Creativity: A Story Makes the Mission Transportable

Finding Bravery and Joy Through Imperfection
Lainie Rowell

Lainie Rowell

6 Min Read

Imagine making a single accidental mark in your journal, the kind you could easily overlook, and that mark becoming the spark for a global creative movement. For Peter H. Reynolds, New York Times best-selling picture book author illustrator (Judy Moody, The Dot, Ish, Sky Color, Someday, and many more), that’s exactly what happened. Reynolds, who founded the social change agency FableVision in 1996 to create “stories that matter, stories that move,” didn’t intend to start a revolution, but he did. And he continues to make his mark by following his curiosity with courage.

For the full interview, listen to our Evolving with Gratitude podcast episode, embedded in this article (above) and also available on your favorite podcast platform.

Embracing Imperfection and Getting Started with a Dot

Creativity is often stifled by the fear of imperfection. Reynolds speaks from experience with the creative process. “Just getting started… that’s the biggest one,” he says. “Sometimes we don’t get started because of fear and being brave is actually the thing we need to focus on.”

Sometimes we don’t get started because of fear and being brave is actually the thing we need to focus on.

—Peter H. Reynolds

The Dot wasn’t part of a grand plan. It began as a quiet, personal moment. Peter tries to never miss his daily journaling. One night, he fell asleep before the words came, pen still on the page. He woke up to find a single, unintended mark on the page: a dot. Thinking it was a mistake, he tossed the journal aside and went back to sleep. But the next morning, with sunlight streaming in, he looked again and thought, “That’s a pretty cool looking dot.” He picked up his pen and wrote, “The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds” next to it.

Not long after, Reynolds led a warm-up drawing activity with young kids. One little girl threw herself on top of her paper, refusing to let him see it. When he gently asked why, she whispered, “I just can’t draw.” That moment broke his heart. It also sparked the realization that many kids give up on creativity too soon. He wrote The Dot for her—and for anyone who needs a nudge to believe in their creative potential.

Celebrating the ‘Ish’ Mindset

The journey doesn’t stop at starting. Creativity flourishes when we embrace our unique voices—what Reynolds calls being “ish.”

“Ish is about developing your own voice, your own style,” he explains. For example, “ if you’re drawing a tiger, it doesn’t have to look exactly like a tiger. In fact, it doesn’t even have to remotely look like a tiger as long as it feels like a tiger to you.”

This mindset came from another powerful classroom moment. Reynolds was encouraging children to let go of perfection and simply explore. After the session, a tiny girl quietly handed him a crumpled piece of paper. “I’m not sure if it’s a poem, but it’s poem-ish,” she said. That humble phrase struck him deeply. She hadn’t just understood the concept—she extended it to writing and thinking.

“She was an ish-ful thinker,” Reynolds reflected. That moment became the seed for Ish, a celebration of originality and self-expression in all its forms.

Reynolds encourages us to do the same: let your drawings be draw-ish, your writing be poem-ish, your thinking be you-ish. That’s where creativity lives, giving our lives texture and depth.

The Gift of Collecting Words

Reynolds doesn’t just collect dots—he collects words. His book The Word Collector introduces Jerome, a boy who gathers words like precious treasures. Eventually, Jerome tosses his words into the wind, inspiring others to collect words.

The idea came from one of Reynolds’ own journals: My Favorite Words. After a school visit, a teacher told him, “We usually call that vocabulary acquisition, but it doesn’t sound quite as magical as the way you described it.”

“[There are] certain words I just love, like ‘bliss.’ Just saying it lowers your blood pressure,” Reynolds says. To him, words are gifts—meant to be collected and shared. That idea continues in his upcoming book, The Gift of Words, which invites us to offer words generously, especially when kindness is needed most.

Whether spoken, written, or strung on garlands like Jerome’s, Reynolds reminds us: words have power. They can lift, heal, and transform a moment.

It turns out that hate is much louder than kindness and love,
so we have to amp up the kindness and love.

—Peter H. Reynolds

Sparking Creativity Through Storytelling

To Reynolds, stories are more than entertainment—they’re sparks for change. “A story makes the mission transportable,” he says. His books are more than children’s literature—they’re conversation starters for all ages.

He extends this philosophy into interactive journals like Start With a Dot and Start With a Word, designed to gently guide us from hesitation to expression. “Most adults will admit they can make a dot,” he says with a smile, “and that dot can turn into a lot of different things.”

Encouraging Creative Bravery

Creativity takes courage. Reynolds knows that for many, it fades by middle school. “Adults need more help than kids,” he reflects. But creativity can be reignited—with resilience, permission, and practice. Peter urges us not to dismiss our early attempts.

Don’t minimize your little efforts… those little efforts might be the striking of the match to ignite new ideas.

—Peter H. Reynolds

This is where “blank page moments” come in—quiet stretches of time when creativity surfaces. Reynolds journals often and values,  hypnagogia, the liminal space between wakefulness and sleep. “Have you provided enough time to hear yourself think?” he asks. It’s a gentle reminder to make space, not just for doing, but for discovering.

So take a moment. Journal. Doodle. Pause. Let your mind wander and your hand follow. These blank page moments aren’t empty, they’re full of possibility. Trust your creativity, embrace imperfection, and remember: even a single dot can start a movement.

In Bold Gratitude,
Lainie

Connect with and learn from Peter H. Reynolds:

The Gift of Words by Peter H. Reynolds (Coming October 7, 2025)