Inspiration is a mental condition..... in more ways than one.
I have great ideas that come as I'm in rush hour traffic and others when I'm setting on a mountain side with a cup of coffee as the sun is setting across the lake in the valley.
Being inspired to write or create a song is more a way of life than anything else.
I can get ideas a all times of the day under varied conditions. And on the other hand...I can set down with nothing on my mind at all..... with full and deliberate intentions to write a song and end up an hour later with a good song. Several of the songs on my sound click were deliberate shots at writing with a blank mind and a blank sheet of paper...... just write..... something....anything.
This is one that was written in about an hour. I was working from a short description of the ending of a movie that was needing a closing song.
http://www.soundclick.com...134&songID=9961448 This one was written for fun... just to write something...anything....while staring at the proverbial "blank sheet of paper".....
http://www.soundclick.com...34&songID=11185706 This final example was written in a very short time frame as well after seeing a major event on the news:
http://www.soundclick.com...134&songID=9315026 So there... with 3 examples....all written in an hour or so... not more then 2 hrs on the initial writing, (I always re-write and edit my writing.... but even the re-writes were all completed in less than 24 hrs total on all 3 of these songs) are 3 songs that came from an initial idea that I saw, and one that came from staring at a "blank sheet of paper" and deciding that I was gonna write something....anything...... just start writing.
After the writing...came the recording.... and that took, on these songs, anywhere from 2 more days of concentrated effort to a week or so depending. Production ideas and other things come to mind in that part of the creative process. Similar to writing, but yeah...different. Production ideas come from listening and saying.... hey... I think I'll try such and such right there at the chorus.... see if it works and keep moving.... never get bogged down on ANY point in the process.
I think getting stuck on a point, getting bogged down in the process.... is the undoing of most writers.... seeking perfection while forgetting to simply write a good song.