Balancing Act: motivation and creative work in the lived experience of writers and musicians

This article analyses the lived experience of writers and musicians in order to examine the relationship between motivation and creative work in the creative industries. Moving beyond understandings of creativity as a discrete task or competence, it demonstrates the role of motivation across different stages of a creative process, projects and career stages. It finds that (1) creative workers’ intrinsic motivation is often intertwined with extrinsic motivators and relationships; (2) creative workers recognise the value of intrinsic motivation, but are also suspicious that it might isolate them from external realities and internal self-criticism; (3) the experience of creative work processes can be painful and dissatisfying, rather than intrinsically fulfilling; (4) creative workers are aware of these complexities and self-manage their environment to optimise their creative process. We consider the implications of these findings for cultural policy and management, especially when addressing questions of autonomy, power and control in creative work.