The thing is, you can’t copy others. Well, of course you can copy others, but what is the point in wasting your time copying others?

Inspiration, on the other hand, comes directly from others, comes from what you see around you, comes from… well, how do you find inspiration?

Take what you see and massage and meld it into a beast so uniquely yours that every time somebody looks at it they inherently know you as a being from what you’ve created.

By no means does this happen instantaneously. Even the Dalai Lama went through years of schooling to learn how to be a Dalai Lama. After years of being the Dalai Lama he understands what it means for him to be aligned with his true message.

A trick I learned many years ago for getting over that feeling of lost for a place to start, then sure, use the first sentence of a book you adore to use as your first sentence of a book you’re making. Sure, use the same curved line in your masterpiece as you see in your favorite masterpiece. I can guarantee that the true artist looking to express itself will take over very rapidly once that flow has begun.

The choice is up to you how radical you want to be.