I love that Miyazaki's real arc didn't start until he was older. Within this arc there are huge jumps in ability. There are two books that are compilations of interviews Miyazaki did in Japan around the times of each movie releasing. A few things stuck out to me:

1. The Japanese entertainment press is/was FAR more sophisticated than anything we have in the states. 2. Miyazaki is all about the details. There is no aspect of his films where there isn't a compelling 'why'. 3. I wish I understood Japanese so that I could experience these films in his own voice.

The books are Turning Point and Starting Point. Honorable mention is Sharing a House with the Never Ending Man, which was written by the only American who worked at Ghibli for a stretch. That one is less about creativity and more about the movie industry/how hard it is to translate Japanese into English