Sometimes we are so caught up in our own worlds or our own lives that we can't back away far enough to get some perspective and be objective. Sometimes seeing something through another's eyes, or in this case another activity of an art, can be oblique enough to cut through the clutter and enlighten oneself. I wrote the following but it is from a different perspective than music but it applies because it deals with the creative process and may well be applied to the writing of a song or a play or even of doing a performance.
How much effort does it take to start something?
When the ideas are fresh and the goal is new, it seems to be the most exciting and things roll right along. Seeing the goal and none of the obstacles is something that should be perhaps captured in some way. Writing about it, describing it, sketching it out, clipping pictures from magazines, or getting pictures from online (non-copyrighted ones) can all go together to make what John Assaraf might call a "vision board". Not a bad idea to go from mental images to the ones that can be seen daily as a reminder.
In architecture, in the design of a house, there may be many sketches, pictures, clippings, product brochures, a plot plan with the survey (maybe a soils test report?) and many written notes in the interview with the client. This is when the excitement and enthusiasm seem to be the highest in this design development phase.
How much effort does it take to keep something going?
The law of inertia, having to do with remaining in motion comes into play. All sorts of friction and resistance may come into play: The worst for me has been lacking information or lacking certainty that the information is correct. Other little things, which are part of the creation, can feel like friction or resistance but may, in fact, merely be part of the process. Sometimes unrelated problems, demanding to be solved, may blind side the project and stop it completely until the "fire is put out". Looking at the game from a broader perspective of it all being part of life can help to not react to the situation as if it were devastating, even though it is just a little bump in the road. Look back at the "vision board" and those wonderful creative feelings will start up again.
How much effort does it take to finish something?
The excitement and the enthusiasm may have waned. The goal may have faded and may have lost some of its clarity. Near the attainment of the goal is the imminent let down like the kind you feel when you are a kid and you are playing outside and the baseball game in the alley is all that there is in the entire world and it is so real in your mind that you can actually see the fans, the umpire, the stands with the crowd screaming for you and you smell the popcorn in the air and the hot dogs and the grass and the dirt on the field itself and you have just run out of the dugout because it is your turn to bat and the crowd is roaring and you are pumped and your mom yells for you to come in for dinner as the reality of the alley smacks away the imaginary one which was so much better but but but... You are hungry and dinner is going to be great! What just happened? You were a major league ball player and your imagination is beyond excellent and yet you are ok. You have a new goal and that goal is dinner.
In a design project, for example, is the goal the finished flawless beautiful set of plans and specifications that the builder will follow to bring the idea from the mind to the paper to the reality of it finished and completed? The final push is the new goal to see the creation of the house as it turns into a home for the people, who are ecstatic to live and enjoy their new environment, which is a work of art both inside and out. When it is up, that house is seeing all the puzzle pieces fitting together and working perfectly for many many years to come.
But wait. There's more. What? A new goal? Right. The new clients are scheduled and they are such nice people and not only do you get to design their new home, but they are also such appreciative people that they become your friends for life. You are their Michelangelo and you are scuplting their home around their ideas and their lifestyle (at least thy think of you that way) and you are very fortunate that your lives interfaced and left a lasting friendship in the wake of the project.
