Value this early stage work. It may seem like it takes a lot of time ... and you may feel like you waste time improvising or searching for inspiration ... but know that this is part of the compositional process and your time spent and material created during this step has great value. Ideas come about in one of two ways (or sometimes in a combination of these two ways):
Improvisation
think of yourself as an explorer discovering (listen!)
brainstorm ideas, experiment! … and just write them all down in clusters disregarding the order of the ideas (write notes, words, gestures, motives, colors, textures, dynamics, choreography, etc.)
Inspiration
only rule = do not sit around and wait to be inspired = inspiration comes through doing!
Infrastructure
Value sketches created during this stage = respect your work - you have created valuable, unique, creative drafts.
build the skeleton of the piece (form, outline, map, time-line, chart)
you may need to go back to Idea to come up with more motives, textures, clusters, etc. to incorporate into your structure
write down in words what it is you want your piece to sound like
in some cases, it can be effective to begin by planning the end
you don't write down or orchestrate all the notes at this point
set limitations:
create limits for the work (length, instrumentation, form, etc.)
create limits for your composition sessions (must compose 10 measures in 20 minutes, for example)
proof setting limitations works: it seems easier to compose once you have composed much of the work ... that's because you set limits (the limits being the already composed music)
Inscription (Ink)
Implement the infrastructure ideas by writing down all the "notes" ... in other words: make the work reproducible by creating complete instructions enabling others to perform your work without you present.
Inspection
Fine tune!
examine the piece carefully and critically
read through the entire score multiple times (hearing the music in your head rather than listening to what notation software plays back)