Cecil Vortex has an interesting series of interviews with artists about the creative process.

One interview is with a friend and fellow Alamedan, Jeff Raz:

Laughs are elusive. You can't head right for a laugh -- it'll go away. You can get people to cry. You can head right for a dramatic moment or a sad moment, and you can usually get it. But you can't head right for a laugh. You have to let the laugh come or sneak around the side. The same thing for inspiration. For me, just keep working, and if inspiration chooses to show up, great. I rather it not show up at 6:30 in the morning. It could've waited till 9. But the job is to write down the inspiration when it comes and know how to use it later.