Lenny Kravitz!

So, I was watching an interview with Lenny Kravitz yesterday, on the Tavis Smiley show. I always perk up when I hear an artist/musician/writer talk about the PROCESS of creativity. Where it comes from, how they channel it, etc. It fascinates me...

I'm paraphrasing here, but in talking about writing songs, Lenny said something like, "The music comes to me. I don't chase after it, or seek it out. It finds me."

James Taylor has said mostly the same thing - that a song will come to him out of "nowhere" and he just transcribes it.

I actually love that the creative process is SO mysterious. That we'll have a thought, a brainstorm, an idea, and will rush to the computer and write it down -- and that we really have no idea where it came from. Or why it came NOW, as opposed to any other time.

Lenny also said that he "dreams music." That he will literally wake up and a song will be there, waiting for him. Heh, I wish my novel ideas would visit me in dreams. They rarely do. Sure would make the process easier....

So, what's your process like? What does the act of creativity feel like to you? Is it mysterious, surreal? Or does it feel more concrete, with mostly hard work and elbow grease?