Inspiration Soup

notebook with me at all times

The oddity of my inspiration is that I often get two ideas at once, I'll be scribbling down a story idea and then a different story will emerge before I've got the first idea down on the page, I'll have to turn the page upside down and make notes on the second story. It's usually two, sometimes three.

I tell myself that I'm a writer. No joke. I used to think that because I've never been paid to write or since no one's ever asked me to, that maybe I'm not really a writer. Writers get a paycheck, I'd tell myself. I'm 58 years and may die never having been a paid writer. But, fuck! I'm a goddamn writer! I work hard at it. Some of my stuff is damn good - If most of us didn't think we were any good, we wouldn't even bother - and some of my other stuff can really suck. And I never feel more liberated than when I'm sitting here tapping out a story. And I no longer wait for the muse to come calling. Joni Mitchell had a word of advice for friends who would complain to her about losing their muse and how they haven't written in ages. She would said, "Oh, just shut the fuck up and write." And I've taken that piece of advice seriously. The muse is always within us. It's just that sometimes we have to drag it out of us, kicking and screaming, but once we've given it some air it calms down and gets to work. So when I'm having trouble with the muse, I write anything to get a story started. I usually look around me and pick an object to write about. Coffee cup. Ukulele. Anything. I may never use it in a real story, but it seems to coax the muse out of me. It works for me, anyway. Good weekend to all. Rich

I often find myself lacking in inspiration, especially when it comes to poetry. For me, the best way to keep the ideas flowing is, really, to live life. I can so easily get into the habit of sitting at home, doing nothing and writing nothing, and it's at these times that the well runs dry. It's taken a while, but I have finally learnt that my inspiration comes from going out into the world, doing new things, meeting new people, visiting new places, reading new authors, discovering new (to me) music. I could go on and on. A life without structure unsettles me, but it's always amidst the change and the new experiences that I find something worth writing about. When it comes to prose, if things are going slowly, I simply try to write at least page a day. I set myself a target for the day and, even though I can be the worlds best procrastinator, I try to make sure I reach that target. It's always after ploughing through a rubbish page or two that I seem to get back into the swing of things and really start to engage with the characters and setting again. I also agree with Rich. Sometimes, I have to simply tell myself 'I am a writer'. I will most likely doubt it as I say it, but the thought injects a little motivation and self-worth.

Great advice from all, but my prize goes to hudsonmoon - we have to shut the fuck up whingeing to ourselves about the multiple reasons why it's not a good idea to write right now and simply bloody well write however tired, pissed off or uninspired we feel and however crappy the result seems - even our poorest efforts can always be improved upon at some point in the future or used as a springboard for other projects. I too have never been paid for a piece of writing, and I write because I love it. Stephen King said that writing is the best fun you can have from the waist up, and no truer words have ever been said. As well as writing because I enjoy it, I write because I have to - it might sound daft, but for me writing (and to a slightly lesser extent reading) is a biological compulsion, and if I don't engage in some sort of creative writing or consume the work of other writers that impress me fairly regularly my mind lacks nourishment and I slowly, almost imperceptibly slip into mental coma. When I'm feeling gloomy and depressed and the muse leaves me floundering I trawl through my old stuff for something to tart up and rejuvenate, and that usually puts me back on the right track. Eventually. Like hudsonmoon, when I'm struggling I write bits and bobs about experiences I've had, either in notebooks or digitally, and sometimes those snippets come in useful. Sometimes I get ideas out of the blue or I dream a weird dream and use part of it as the starting point, other times some mundane event triggers off an idea. It varies, and I guess there's no fail-safe formula.