The No Sweat Myth: All great artists (or all geniuses) create effortlessly, without sweat.

This myth arose during the Renaissance before our modern idea of genius fully hatched, according to Gender and Genius: Towards a Feminist... by Christine Battersby. A new class of painters and sculptors developed. These artists, generally men from well-to-do families, wanted to distance themselves from lower classes and from the craftsmen. They wished to convey that they were above manual labor and, hence, did not sweat. The idea that a good creator works with no sweat is an elitist, outdated, and untrue notion. An artist's sweat may be true physical sweat or the sweat of making many creative decisions. A writer or painter who struggles through many creative decisions can be exhausted after several hours of work. Experienced creators working at a deep level who do not relying on formulaic solutions often feel this exhaustion. There is no guarantee that creating will become effortless for anyone. There is no guarantee that one day of easy, creative flow will lead to another day of working in flow. Working consistently will lead to better work. It may not lead to easier work. You cannot control whether creating will become easier for you. So let go of this myth. You can, however, control your working schedule and make time to create consistently.

Christine Battersby's book is called Gender and Genius: Towards a Feminist Aesthetics