Hi everyone,

Though this post is not specifically related to Ray Bradbury, I am hoping to get responses from writers on the following topic. I am doing a paper for a college class, and would sure appreciate and value your imput. Thanks.

I would like your views on writing from inspiration versus writing on demand. That is, do you think a writer can only produce quality work if he/she is writing from inspiration? Or do you think quality writing can be produced on demand?

Also, any suggestions of books, magazine articles, etc, on this topic would be helpful.

Thanks so much!

I am doing a paper for a college class

Though this is not specifically related to Ray Bradbury

Any number of classic writers produced quality work under incredible pressures and demands. Bradbury has said he never writes on assignment, but he has never lacked for inspiration.

Many musicians worked under stressful money demands. Many artists have worked under the same demand of making a few bucks to pay the bills. And, many artists cannot work that way. Many are not business/marketing smart. Many are. Of the two fellows credited for creating Spider-Man, one was street smart in the business world and made a fortune from Spider-man, the other sold his rights when he first created Spider-man and has not seen a dime from all the hoopla.

My suggestion is to go thru a short biography of famous men and women in the arts, and see how they ticked.

True, not everyone has to be the same, but can still contribute works of value.

This says it all, I think:

"Superman's Song" - by Crash Test Dummies

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Tarzan wasn't a ladies' man
He'd just come along and scoop 'em up under his arm
Like that, quick as a cat in the jungle
But Clark Kent, now there was a real gent
He would not be caught sittin' around in no
Junglescape, dumb as an ape doing nothing

Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

Hey Bob, Supe had a straight job
Even though he could have smashed through any bank
In the United States, he had the strength, but he would now
Folks said his family were all dead
Their planet crumbled but Superman, he forced himself
To carry on, forget Krypton, and keep going
Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

Tarzan was king of the jungle and Lord over all the apes
But he could hardly string together four words: "I Tarzan, You Jane."

Sometimes when Supe was stopping crimes
I'll bet that he was tempted to just quit and turn his back
On man, join Tarzan in the forest
But he stayed in the city, and kept on changing clothes
In dirty old phonebooths till his work was through
And nothing to do but go on home

Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

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(...How True!!)