C for Creation; A to Z Challenge

C is for creation; creation of characters, plots, twists, music, illustrations, paintings and so on. How do you go about creating your art? Do you fly by the seat of your pants and just follow where the process takes you, do you plan and follow some strict structure, or do you fall somewhere in the middle?

I tend to be a seat of the pants kind of girl. I craft and write with a basic idea or inspiration in mind and just see where it takes me. It is in the editing and rereading that I fix things that do not work as part of the finished product. Whether it is a line of verse that does not flow well, and makes using as lyrics difficult, or a speckle of paint that disrupts what I have in mind, it is when I step back after the first rush of creating anything that I look at the whole thing. Sometimes it is the very mistakes, that speckle of paint, that really make the piece or inspire something else. I particularly find this true in creative writing and painting, much less so in essays and fact driven writing. Sometimes I find myself wandering off with no end in sight, and no real desire to find one. That is when I have to put something aside for a while and then come back with a more structured approach.

Please share your crafting methodology, your muse, your frustrations. Let us share our successes and frustrations, because we have all had some of each.