Composer Robert Rosen said that the first step to composing is improvisation, while one student described composing as "improvising with an eraser".
A New Study on the Benefits of Music Education
Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
Music Fun & Games for the Summer
All students will have summer assignments, which consist of playing pop, movie, country, praise & worship and jazz songs, composing and improvising to their hearts content. I paid dearly for not touching the piano in the summer when I was their age. I gradually caught on that this was not a good thing (starting from scratch each year is a painful experience for everyone involved).