A few days back I posted an entry regarding Mason Currey’s fascinating articles published on Slate regarding creative people and their rituals (in that case, his column was about procrastination). In this, his last entry regarding creativity, he focuses on what is perhaps one of the more important things a creative individual should do: Work.
Or, as he put it, don’t wait for inspiration to hit you:
I enjoyed this particular column so much I had to add my two cents, which essentially amounted to repeating what was written above! For those curious:
Don’t wait for inspiration may well be the best advice to any creative individual. There have been many a day I absolutely DID NOT want to sit before my computer and get to work…yet did so anyway. The temptation not to do work, as Gershwin so aptly put it, is indeed a great one. But if one day you want to have the unique pleasure of looking back at what you accomplished in your creative life and be rewarded with the sight of a bookshelf carrying your books or an art gallery featuring your works, etc. etc., then you have to put in the effort. Inspiration does indeed come to me when I keep working, regardless of my mood.