You can stop.
It’s nice when inspiration comes first and drives the actions that build momentum -- and it often does -- but what do you do when it doesn't?
Inspiration is ephemeral, intellectual, intangible. Inspiration has very little to do with action, form, or function. Inspiration is a ghost without a body, a wisp of a soul with no vessel to work through, no way to make an impact.
I have found that I can still be pretty productive without initial inspiration. I define the necessary actions that create momentum, and then I just go through those motions.
If it's going to show up at all, inspiration usually catches up with me down the road. A body in motion tends to stay in motion. But sorry, the flow just doesn't happen on Step One.
As a writer, there are far too many work sessions where inspiration is not driving anything. I honestly spend most of my time just showing up and doing the next thing on my To Do list. (Like, writing this post, for example. Wink.)
Still not feeling it?
Sometimes all you have to work with initially is an act of sheer will. Nobody can give you the will. You already have it; it's your choice to use it.
image credit Simon Pais via Creative Commons on Flickr