How do I know if my creative practice is actually improving or just staying the same?

This is the question that separates people who drift through making from those who actually develop. Murasaki Shikibu didn't just write—she observed *how* she wrote, what moved her pen differently each time. Start keeping a practice journal that's not about finished work, but about the small shifts: Did you notice something about light today that you didn't yesterday? Did you solve a problem differently? Did you feel resistance in a new place? Improvement in design isn't always visible in the final piece. Sometimes it's in how you *approach* the problem—less flailing, more clarity. Look back at your work from six months ago and notice what you'd do differently now. That gap is progress. The real test: are you asking better questions of your work? Are you catching yourself making a familiar move and choosing something else instead? That's the interior life of practice showing up. Document it. You'll see the pattern.