A great novelist once remarked that o write you need beeswax, a stool, a desk, some paper and a pen. "The beeswax" he said: "...is to stick your arse to the stool." Who would have thought the Victorians could be so crude!
But there is a grain of truth to this advice. I'm constantly working to refine and get better at what I do, and constantly thinking about what I do, musically and in other areas of life. So I can argue (snd do) that even when I don't have a guitar or pen in my hand I'm still 'creating'. Because it isn't just about 'producing' goods. Creativity is about thinking creatively, considering what you do, relating to other creative types, making decisions scribbling down ideas, seeing the world in a certain way.
The 'Inspiration Fairy' will visit, but, as Picasso said, if that visit is going to be any use to you, it has to find your work when it arrives. Otherwise, it will fly through you window, look at you sitting around and do a 180.
Here's a story:
The would be artist lived his life waiting for inspiration. A musician visited and he said "Go away, I'm waiting for the Inspiration Fairy!"
A teacher came to visit and he said: "Go away,!I'm waiting for The Inspiration Fairy!"
A seller of art equipment came to visit and he said: Go away, I'm waiting for The Inspiration Fairy!"
Eventually he gave up and died, unhappy because he didn't;t have a single work to show for his desire and ambition.
He saw The Inspiration Fairy, who he held responsible for creativity at the gates of Heaven. and complained:
"Why didn't you help me, you useless lump of fairydom?"
"What do yo mean, said the Fairy? I sent you a musician, a teacher and a peddler.... If you didn't produce anything you've only got yourself to blame!"
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