When “Inspired” Gets Tired
“I
just need some inspiration.”
“I
got so inspired when I wrote that scene and it came out great.”
“I’ve
had no inspiration for the past week. I’m stuck.”
I
don’t know what inspiration is. I don’t know where it comes from. That’s not to
say I haven’t had my great moments of it; it’s just that I don’t know what
kicks it on. Maybe it’s a break. Maybe it’s because of hours of mulling over
the plot tangle that suddenly makes it clear. I’m not sure. It’s fun, though.
You’ve got nothing and then your brain decides to give you the epic chase
scene, the perfect words for the argument, or the steps needed to get from a to
b.
But
sometimes young writers talk about inspiration like it’s necessary to writing. The
thing is, “inspiration”
isn’t the norm. Most of the time
inspiration likes to lie around snoozing, and we like
to wait for it to wake up.
More
practiced writers don’t necessarily experience it more than novices, but they
still manage to crank out the words. It’s because they work hard. They set their minds to it. And they write. Maybe
it’s a little, maybe it’s a lot, but they still write.
“…there’s no
point in waiting for so-called
blissful moments, for inspiration; if it comes, so much the better – but you keep
working anyway.” – Ivan Turgenev
Writing
without an epiphany is harder, yes, but it’s not impossible.
Writing
is possible at any time, if you determine to do it.
I’ve said it time and again that “writer’s block, or “lack of inspiration” is
usually just a cover for more underlying problems. (Inspired by A Block of Cheese)
You’ve
got to be able to deal with those problems and when you can, you can write
whether inspiration is awake or not.
Inspiration
is the writer’s best friend. Good friends are hard to come by.
…
“I write when I’m inspired, and I see
to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.” – Peter De Vries
…
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