Those are the words of Jack White. Wise words. There are many more in this three-minute video, packed with great information
writers can apply to their own work – basically, that success and “having it
made” can kill your creativity. You get too comfortable with the way things are
set up, and you have nothing to challenge you. So he manufactures his own
tension in hundreds of little ways for his performances, and doing this forces
him to create something new and different each time.
The same is true for writers. It’s
wonderful to reach new plateaus and experience breakthroughs, but then what?
You have to keep setting the bar higher and higher. And treat it like a job:
“Inspiration and work ethic — they ride right next to each other…. Not every day you’re gonna wake up and the clouds are gonna part and rays from heaven are gonna come down and you’re gonna write a song from it. Sometimes, you just get in there and just force yourself to work, and maybe something good will come out."
