Hunting Down Ideas

I'm following Wil Wheaton on Twitter and his blog feed on Google Reader and he's immensely entertaining in his nerdy way. (What? You don't know who Wil Wheaton is? And you call yourself a Trekker.) Warning: if you click through below and browse his site, you'll find he sometimes he uses salty language.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with this post about the pursuit of ideas, though:

As writers, it's vital that we meet our deadlines, of course, but we also have to build time into our work schedule to read books, take walks, visit doctor whisky, play with our dogs, and do the other things that may not look or feel like work, but are integral to our creative process.

I think this is true of everyone, not just people who pursue creative endeavors. No matter your profession, what you do in your every day life feeds it. Or should.

And, besides, writers and artists should pursue their passions as a profession as well. That means you don't sit around and wait for inspiration to strike. You produce. You don't produce, you don't eat. Hunger is a great motivator.

I like how Bradbury put it about inspiration. Just jump off the cliff. Build your wings on the way down.

So, if you're an artist, what are you waiting for? Jump!