An artist had better not wait to be inspired before beginning to work, since inspiration typically only comes to artists who are willing to work when not inspired. Tchaikovsky put it this way: “I’m inspired about every fifth day but I only get that fifth day if I show up the other four days.” This is one of the great truths about the creative process, that if you sit on your hands waiting for inspiration you will likely still be sitting there next month or next year.
That being the case, how can you stay motivated on all those days when you aren’t feeling inspired? Over these 5 weeks I’ll present 5 tips. Here’s tip #3!
3. Possess a tactic or two for getting inspired. What inspires you? Certain music? The works of a certain artist? Certain quotations? For me, if I dip into the notebooks of Camus I find myself drifting off to a place that promotes rich writing. What works for you? Make a list of “the ways I know to get inspired,” keep that list handy, and make use of it when the dull days begin to mount up.
Tip #4 next week!
When I’m not inspired I do other activities. So as a painter I might work on marketing stuff, put wire on the back of the canvas to hang, clean the studio. I have a good stash of reference photo so I’may work on a composition. There’s no need for guilt or despair if doing other art activities .
I am a writer. When I’m not inspired, I write rough sketches of ideas, then rewrite them again and again until my muse wakes up and takes over. My muse may inform me, “This is trash, pitch it,” or “I like this, what about…..”
Hemingway wrote, “The only kind of writing is rewriting.” Surely this applies to all the arts.