@trent.strum, I posted a reply to another thread where I compared the movement in a tree to the very similar movements in a statue of an archer.
Develop an understanding of the movement of the whole bonsai. See how it moves; how it carries the eye. Read articles where pieces of art are broken down for how the piece as a whole represents strength or frailty; built up tension or release; unity or division. I’ve looked at famous art and went straight to the Internet to find a discussion of the piece. I don’t always find a discussion, but when I do, I end up learning more about what I saw and why it caught my eye.
Learn the lines of your trees. Know their shapes by heart. Examine them every time you water. Understand what makes a bonsai design work or fail. Inspiration will come when you least expect it.
I was in Walt Disney World last month. I was on a shuttle from the hotel to one of the parks. As we rode, I looked out at the bald cypress which are everywhere. I saw one specific tree for mere seconds and I blurted out “I just solved my problem.” A few days later, as I drove home, my wife used a technique for keeping me awake on long drives (NOT THAT ONE) where she engages me to talk about something that excites me even if it bores her. While I talk, she asks very intelligent and provocative questions that make me think. (After a long stretch of talking, I looked over and she’s asleep 
)
The problem I have is with a bald cypress of mine. The apex of its flat-top design doesn’t have alternating branches along its length. There is a noticeable gap of branches. As we rode the bus, I wasn’t thinking of that tree, but when I saw a specific layout of the branches, it jumped forward and I realized how I could solve the tree’s problem while following natural design. My wife is a smart cookie. While I drove, I came up with some logical explanations of why certain plant hormones would cause such growth.
“Bill, all you just said is how you solved a bald cypress problem with another bald cypress. Where’s the inspiration from outside the plant world?”
The flat-top design correction comes from understanding how the chaos of a meandering river coincides with the chaos of light in a flat-top apex. The tree is no longer being forced in a single direction; up. A meandering river is one that is no longer being forced along the slope of the land. When the original imperative is lost, chaos is introduced. A meandering river whips about as sediment is deposited and banks are eroded. The flat top of a bald cypress will become chaotic as auxin-driven phototropism is responding to light coming from the sun as well as ambient light coming from everything else. It’s not mandated that a bald cypress will do this, but the opportunity is there. As such, I can fix my problem and continue my tree’s story because I know how rivers flow.