[arg_discuss] Topic of the Week Sept. 14: Perspiration or Inspiration?

[David Flor]

I'm a programmer by trade: I do things first, then think about them 
later. If it takes six complete rewrites to get it right (even if some 
of those rewrites are done for no reason), so be it.

I have a hard time sitting down and coming up with ideas on the spot. 
Most of my ideas come out of the blue at inconvenient times: on the bus, 
at 3am while asleep, watching a movie in the theater, in the shower... I 
pretty much go everywhere with a pen and paper at this point, and also 
have a set on my nightstand (drives the wife crazy).

Judy Tyrer wrote:

> I don't know about "waiting for an idea to come" as I think you have to be actively involved in DOING and then the idea comes.  It is in the doing of the project that one opens oneself up for ideas to flow.  You can't just watch TV all day waiting for inspiration.  You have to be actively involved in what you are wanting to achieve, regardless of the media in which you are working.  Inspiration comes through perspiration, I guess.  At least, that's been my experience.  

>

> Judy 

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Andrea Phillips

> Sent: Monday, September 14, 2009 1:50 PM

> To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG

> Subject: [arg_discuss] Topic of the Week Sept. 14: Perspiration or Inspiration?

>

> This is a question that came up on IRC a few weeks ago. There are a

> few ways that creative work happens. On the one hand, there's the

> Stevie Wonder model, perspiration: You work and work and work (writing

> dozens of songs a fay, and then, by the numbers, some of the work will

> be chart-toppers. Then there's the inspiration model, the apocryphal

> Voltaire writing Candide in three days: You wait until an idea comes

> to you, and then you execute it in one dizzying whirlwind until it's

> done.

>

> So you: Where do you fall? Skew hard one way or the other? Someplace

> in the middle? On one end and wish you were on the other?

>

>