The work that many do.

It keeps them busy, but not sustained. It is the empty, idling.
They know they must practice their craft; establish a routine, gaining strength, increasing proficiency so that they will move beyond craftsmanship into authorship.
Sadly, they lack influence — tacking to the rear, without understanding their direction. They gather in bachelor herds, fending off outside influence, while they clear their throat, thinking they are practicing the scales.

They work to a formula and claim freedom from the debris of artist thinking. They are lost in their thicket; neither in nor out of the woods.