It is the fuel that drives us to create. It is the fire that burns our minds and pours out onto the page as prose. It is the sway of a lovers hips that forces poetry to spring from our lips.
It is elusive and ethereal, yet without it, we cannot create.
But what, exactly, is inspiration? And how does one go about getting some?
Here’s the definition as it appears on http://www.merriam-webster.com.
Definition of INSPIRATION
1 a: a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation
b: the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions
c: the act of influencing or suggesting opinions
2 a: the act of drawing in; specifically: the drawing of air into the lungs
3 a : the quality or state of being inspired
b: something that is inspired (a scheme that was pure inspiration)
4 a: an inspiring agent or influence
I think that most writers tend to think of Inspiration as 1 a. For us, our divine influence is known as a Muse, whatever form that fay creature takes. I, myself, have and still use this definition. But, I think the danger with using this definition is the very ephemeral nature of it.
“I need to be inspired to write,” we as writers often say. “Inspiration struck!” is another great quote. But, both of these quotes highlight the point I am making. We tend to think of inspiration as something needed to write (like a painter needs paint, we need inspiration), but at the same time, it’s rare, difficult to find or just plain not around often. I think that as writers, being dependent on this unknowable, mystical force to suddenly drop ideas or stories in your lap is a bad idea, and one that I have spent time trying to stop doing myself.
Over the past few years, I have spent a lot of time thinking about inspiration, and I have come to the conclusion that it is really more along the lines of definition 2. The act of drawing in. I even like the second half, used as a metaphor. We draw inspiration into us in the same way we draw breath into our lungs.
But, I heard you say, where do we find inspiration to draw in? Air is all around us, but where is inspiration?
And this, my dear fellow writers, is the question. And my answer is simple.
The same place air is. All around us.
When I look out my window at work, I see clouds, a parking lot, other buildings, people, cars, trees, power lines, hills and the city of in the distance. On my desk is my computer, my little figures from miniature games I used to play, pictures of my family, a book on African Wisdom, my zoo calendar, a clock and various other odds and ends. I draw these in on a daily basis.
And I draw in other things too. Books I am currently reading, songs I listen to in the car, conversations co-workers have, my child and wife, and the things they say. TV shows and video games. I am constantly drawing in inspiration, all day, every day, just like I draw in air. All that input is stored in my brain, and it is my job as an artist to draw that data out and put it on the paper.
When I say “inspiration struck!” today, what I mean is that two or more of the bits of daily data I draw in have collided in my brain, and a new story idea has germinated. This happens to me often.
For example, during the recent “rapture” thing that was causing such an uproar, I heard on the radio that the guy who predicted the event once predicted the arrival of Jesus sometime in the 90’s. It occurred to me that if he was right, and the return was really a birth, then Jesus would be around 17 now. That idea, of a teenaged Jesus, collided with an idea I had of telling the story of a modern teen who discovered he had magic abilities, and resulted in the idea of telling the story of an American teen who learns he is the return of Jesus. That was inspiration striking.
But, more important than this, is the idea that I don’t need to wait for inspiration to strike. I can instead go through the catalogue of data I have been storing in my head, and draw out ideas. It’s not easy, for sure. Just like writing itself, it’s a skill that must be practiced, but I have been working on it, and I find now that when I say I am not feeling ‘inspired,’ I have the power to change that. I take a walk and get some new data, or I simply think about events from the past few weeks, and in a matter of minutes, I have inspiration. Maybe it’s a trickle rather than the thunder bolt most of us want, but a trickle of inspiration constantly is better than a thunder bolt every now and then. It’s far less painful, that’s for sure.
In the end, I have come to believe that inspiration is simply allowing my mind to do what it does best: gather data, percolate over the data gathered, and join together that data in new and interesting ways.
I hope that this article has in some small way inspired you.
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Inspiration
This is a topic that is very dear to me. Inspiration. See, it’s something that every artist has to struggle with, and one that many artists, especially writers, seem to think is fleeting and difficult to come by. Some think that it is a rare flower that only blossoms when the conditions are right, once or twice a year. Other’s think it is a precious stone, buried deep in the earth, that one has to work hard at digging out before it’s light can be seen. Personally, I think both of these are wrong.
Inspiration is something that all artists need, I am not going to deny this. It’s difficult, if not downright impossible, for me to write a story when there is no inspiration. However, I do not think that inspiration is something that suddenly comes upon me unbidden, or that it is something I have to work hard at. As a writer, my inspiration surrounds me all the time. I wear it, like a jacket, and reach into its deep and endless pockets to draw forth the ideas I need to write my stories.
How, you may ask, do I do this? Where did I find such a wondrous jacket?
I worked hard at it. I made it myself. I drew the material from the experiences and loves of my life and stitched them together to make this wonderful coat. I stuffed the pockets so full with memories and bits and pieces of things I’ve read or seen on TV, as well as personal experiences, that if I were to draw an idea from it once a day for the rest of my life, they would still be filled to bulging.
And the truth is, you wear such a jacket yourself. You just need to learn where the pockets are.
And I think that’s the end of that metaphor. Sorry for going all poetic there, but I was… inspired, I guess. Heh.
Over the years, reading various books on writing, two have really struck me and stick with me about the craft, and the strangest thing is that neither was really about HOW to write. These books are The Artist’s Way and Zen in the Art of Writing. If you don’t have these books, go get them now. I’ll wait.
Back? Good.
In Zen and the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury talks a lot about loves, passions and memories. Those things that we love as children, those things that we are passionate about as adults, combined with the memories of our own lives and experiences are all the inspiration we as writers ever need. We often hear the old adage “Write what you know.” Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never ridden on the back of a dragon, and I don’t think that Mr. Bradbury has ever walked the sands of Mars. But the people in his books, his characters, were all based on people he knew, in some way or another. His family made it to Mars, to be the basis of many of the characters there. I have often drawn upon personality traits of people I know for characters. In fact, I am doing it deliberately for the fantasy novel I am currently writing. Family, friends, loved ones, enemies. All of them are up for grabs for use as personalities in my novels. Because, that is what I know.
Combine those with the things you love, those things that you are passionate about, and write stories that mix the two. That love and passion will show through, and people will stand up and notice.
The other side of this, and it’s something I’ve learned from Zen in the Art of Writing and from Artist’s Way, is that the story may take a while, several years in fact, to germinate. For example, I have a deep love of Role Playing Games, such as Dungeons and Dragons. I would love to write a story about that love, but what that story is I don’t yet know. I’m sure that one day I will have an idea for a character that will match this love of RPG’s and the story will appear in my head.
But what I’ve learned from Artist’s Way is that I can’t force it. If I do, it will be crap. And I will be exhausted from the effort, and other stories I try to write, unrelated, will also be crap. I need to let the flow happen. And I also need to be good to myself, and take breaks. My well, the pockets of my jacket, need time to refill, regenerate. So, I try to take time off every now and then. Not long periods, mind, a single after noon is fine. I take an Artist’s Date, as described in the book, where I do something I really enjoy and don’t think about writing at all. My mind is relxed, the well refills, and when I return to the writing, I find that the ideas just come to me. Naturally, without struggle, and in a flow, not a sudden blossoming that lasts a short period of time.
So, I use these principles of storing memories and loves, and the idea of taking breaks to refreash my mind, to keep my inspiration up, to keep the flow coming. I never want for ideas, because if I do, I know I have these tools to help me find them again.
So take my advice. Don’t wait for inspiration to happen, and don’t go digging for it as if it were hard work. Let it happen to you, let it flow, and be sure to take breaks from drinking from it, so that it can replenish itself.
Inspiration is something that all artists need, I am not going to deny this. It’s difficult, if not downright impossible, for me to write a story when there is no inspiration. However, I do not think that inspiration is something that suddenly comes upon me unbidden, or that it is something I have to work hard at. As a writer, my inspiration surrounds me all the time. I wear it, like a jacket, and reach into its deep and endless pockets to draw forth the ideas I need to write my stories.
How, you may ask, do I do this? Where did I find such a wondrous jacket?
I worked hard at it. I made it myself. I drew the material from the experiences and loves of my life and stitched them together to make this wonderful coat. I stuffed the pockets so full with memories and bits and pieces of things I’ve read or seen on TV, as well as personal experiences, that if I were to draw an idea from it once a day for the rest of my life, they would still be filled to bulging.
And the truth is, you wear such a jacket yourself. You just need to learn where the pockets are.
And I think that’s the end of that metaphor. Sorry for going all poetic there, but I was… inspired, I guess. Heh.
Over the years, reading various books on writing, two have really struck me and stick with me about the craft, and the strangest thing is that neither was really about HOW to write. These books are The Artist’s Way and Zen in the Art of Writing. If you don’t have these books, go get them now. I’ll wait.
Back? Good.
In Zen and the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury talks a lot about loves, passions and memories. Those things that we love as children, those things that we are passionate about as adults, combined with the memories of our own lives and experiences are all the inspiration we as writers ever need. We often hear the old adage “Write what you know.” Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never ridden on the back of a dragon, and I don’t think that Mr. Bradbury has ever walked the sands of Mars. But the people in his books, his characters, were all based on people he knew, in some way or another. His family made it to Mars, to be the basis of many of the characters there. I have often drawn upon personality traits of people I know for characters. In fact, I am doing it deliberately for the fantasy novel I am currently writing. Family, friends, loved ones, enemies. All of them are up for grabs for use as personalities in my novels. Because, that is what I know.
Combine those with the things you love, those things that you are passionate about, and write stories that mix the two. That love and passion will show through, and people will stand up and notice.
The other side of this, and it’s something I’ve learned from Zen in the Art of Writing and from Artist’s Way, is that the story may take a while, several years in fact, to germinate. For example, I have a deep love of Role Playing Games, such as Dungeons and Dragons. I would love to write a story about that love, but what that story is I don’t yet know. I’m sure that one day I will have an idea for a character that will match this love of RPG’s and the story will appear in my head.
But what I’ve learned from Artist’s Way is that I can’t force it. If I do, it will be crap. And I will be exhausted from the effort, and other stories I try to write, unrelated, will also be crap. I need to let the flow happen. And I also need to be good to myself, and take breaks. My well, the pockets of my jacket, need time to refill, regenerate. So, I try to take time off every now and then. Not long periods, mind, a single after noon is fine. I take an Artist’s Date, as described in the book, where I do something I really enjoy and don’t think about writing at all. My mind is relxed, the well refills, and when I return to the writing, I find that the ideas just come to me. Naturally, without struggle, and in a flow, not a sudden blossoming that lasts a short period of time.
So, I use these principles of storing memories and loves, and the idea of taking breaks to refreash my mind, to keep my inspiration up, to keep the flow coming. I never want for ideas, because if I do, I know I have these tools to help me find them again.
So take my advice. Don’t wait for inspiration to happen, and don’t go digging for it as if it were hard work. Let it happen to you, let it flow, and be sure to take breaks from drinking from it, so that it can replenish itself.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Sometimes, you just need to write
So, as you all know, I have set myself several goals. Write every day, even if it’s only a few hundred words. Submit at least once a week. Write a blog post every weekday.
Well, today, I realized that I almost missed out on that last one, and now I find myself sitting in front of the computer, trying to come up with something to blog about. And I reminded myself of on of the most important rules to writing that I know.
Sometimes, you just have to write.
We’ve all been there. Stuck for an idea on what to do next. Our hero is trapped, and we have no idea how to get him out of it. The villain is giving a speech, but the words for it just aren’t coming. There’s a pending blog post, but no topic.
But, despite the fact that inspiration has fled and the ideas are just not coming, you still have to write. Because, no one else is going to write your story but you. So, we write. I am sitting here now, writing this, because I couldn’t think of anything else to write about tonight.
We don’t know how the hero will escape the villainous death trap, so we leave him there in a cliffhanger and move to another character until an idea comes to us. Instead of writing out the villain’s speech, we have the hero working away at his bonds and sneaking out his cell phone that he will use to transmit a virus into the villain’s super computer. As he’s not listening to the speech, it’s just going on in the background, and the hero focus on the task at hand.
There are ways around not knowing what to write next. Usually, for me, it’s to skip ahead, or back or sideways even, and write something else.
And the reason for this is that, if I want to be a professional writer, if I want to make money doing this, I can’t let something as fragile as inspiration, or it’s lack, stop me from doing what I want to do with my life. Writing is just too important to me to be stopped by something as simple as “I don’t know what to write.”
So, don’t let the lack of idea blues get you down. Get back at that keyboard, skip to another scene, find a way out of writing that part you don’t want, and get the story going.
Because, sometimes, no matter what, you just have to write.
Well, today, I realized that I almost missed out on that last one, and now I find myself sitting in front of the computer, trying to come up with something to blog about. And I reminded myself of on of the most important rules to writing that I know.
Sometimes, you just have to write.
We’ve all been there. Stuck for an idea on what to do next. Our hero is trapped, and we have no idea how to get him out of it. The villain is giving a speech, but the words for it just aren’t coming. There’s a pending blog post, but no topic.
But, despite the fact that inspiration has fled and the ideas are just not coming, you still have to write. Because, no one else is going to write your story but you. So, we write. I am sitting here now, writing this, because I couldn’t think of anything else to write about tonight.
We don’t know how the hero will escape the villainous death trap, so we leave him there in a cliffhanger and move to another character until an idea comes to us. Instead of writing out the villain’s speech, we have the hero working away at his bonds and sneaking out his cell phone that he will use to transmit a virus into the villain’s super computer. As he’s not listening to the speech, it’s just going on in the background, and the hero focus on the task at hand.
There are ways around not knowing what to write next. Usually, for me, it’s to skip ahead, or back or sideways even, and write something else.
And the reason for this is that, if I want to be a professional writer, if I want to make money doing this, I can’t let something as fragile as inspiration, or it’s lack, stop me from doing what I want to do with my life. Writing is just too important to me to be stopped by something as simple as “I don’t know what to write.”
So, don’t let the lack of idea blues get you down. Get back at that keyboard, skip to another scene, find a way out of writing that part you don’t want, and get the story going.
Because, sometimes, no matter what, you just have to write.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Birthday’s and Inspiration
So, yesterday was my birthday. I had a fantastic day, spent with my family. We slept in, went to breakfast at a little café down the street, and then went to the aquarium. I got my gift, a hand made card from my son, and a set of books from my wife, Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury and Steven King’s On Writing. I’m excited about these things.
While we were out at the Aquarium, though, I was reminded of another book on writing I love, the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. If you have never read it before, I cannot recommend it strongly enough. There is a lot of great advice in there, and the process she describes is great for getting through writers black. Anyway, one of the things she recommends in the book is what she calls an Artist’s Date.
Here’s the basic concept. Once a week, go somewhere, do something, whatever, that’s not related to writing. It’s not housework, or homework, or work work. It’s something fun. Take a walk in the park. Go to the Zoo. Hit the casino. Whatever. What happens is that you let your mind relax, and during this date, something will happen, inspiration will hit, and that thing that problem your having while writing will suddenly have an answer. All while you weren’t even thinking of it.
Sometimes, however, what happens is what happened to me. I discovered a creature at the aquarium that I had never heard of before, never mind see. The sea dragon. I fell in love with this beautiful fish. And the sea horse, too. I learned lots of interesting things about both creatures while there. And you know what? I’m inspired.
I didn’t go there looking for inspiration. I just went to have a good time with my family. And that goal was achieved. But, I also got inspiration as a bonus. Now, I just gotta figure out what the story is that this inspiration is trying to get me to write. I’ll figure it out, I’m sure.
Probably on some other excursion with my family, when I’m not even thinking of it.
While we were out at the Aquarium, though, I was reminded of another book on writing I love, the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. If you have never read it before, I cannot recommend it strongly enough. There is a lot of great advice in there, and the process she describes is great for getting through writers black. Anyway, one of the things she recommends in the book is what she calls an Artist’s Date.
Here’s the basic concept. Once a week, go somewhere, do something, whatever, that’s not related to writing. It’s not housework, or homework, or work work. It’s something fun. Take a walk in the park. Go to the Zoo. Hit the casino. Whatever. What happens is that you let your mind relax, and during this date, something will happen, inspiration will hit, and that thing that problem your having while writing will suddenly have an answer. All while you weren’t even thinking of it.
Sometimes, however, what happens is what happened to me. I discovered a creature at the aquarium that I had never heard of before, never mind see. The sea dragon. I fell in love with this beautiful fish. And the sea horse, too. I learned lots of interesting things about both creatures while there. And you know what? I’m inspired.
I didn’t go there looking for inspiration. I just went to have a good time with my family. And that goal was achieved. But, I also got inspiration as a bonus. Now, I just gotta figure out what the story is that this inspiration is trying to get me to write. I’ll figure it out, I’m sure.
Probably on some other excursion with my family, when I’m not even thinking of it.
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