Q: I wrote a song a few weeks ago in three days and it came out really well, and I've been trying to write another one for some time now and I'm getting nowhere. how do you get into the proper mental state where your inspired enough to write music?
A: no one knows for sure. sometimes it comes to you when you least expect it. but what has helped for me is to separate it into 2 separate activities. Having the original idea, and then writing that idea to its completion. Those 2 jobs happen under completely different circumstances, and require completely different skill sets, and are best suited to totally different personalities. The original idea is like a magical bolt of lightning and it's almost impossible to fully control when or how it happens. but the other job, where you select one of those lightning bolts you got in the first job, and finish it -- that second job just requires patience and open-minded diligence