""Inspiration is for amateurs -- the rest of us just show up and get to work," Chuck Close scoffed. "A self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood," Tchaikovsky admonished. "Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too," Isabel Allende urged. But true as this general sentiment may be, it isn't always an easy or a livable truth -- most creative people do get stuck every once in a while, or at the very least hit the OK plateau. What then?"
