Seriously, though, this has been on my mind big time the last few weeks, too. I agree with you, it is rare, though maybe not as rare as we think. I think people have inspiration all the time, but they ignore it or don't recognize it, or they are afraid to take a chance or make a decision based on that "gut feeling" that would otherwise drive them forward.

I also think, while work and routine are important, they can also chase away and kill inspiration. People have learned not to be inspired, which I think means that basically they don't trust their own creativity -- writers talk about not waiting for inspiration and mock being inspired, and I've come to think that's kind of sad. Writing shouldn't just be work, and it should be inspired.

I know there's a lot of tough talk about walking the walk even if you don't feel like it, but. . .is that really worth it? Yes, you do need to sit down and write and not just think about it with your head in the clouds, BUT, the fact is, if you are inspired, you will sit down and write -- you won't resist doing the thing you are driven to do. There's no reason to have to force yourself. That's the magical moment, really.

I think people get defensive and push away inspiration because they can't control it, you can't say when it's going to come, but the wild thing is if you are open to it, if you believe in it, then it comes more often than you think. Zen, but true. And I'm a working writer making a living at writing, so I know someone is going to say "if I had to wait for inspiration things would never get written." Well, take it from me -- they do get written.

I guess my perspective has changed recently because I'm functioning on pure inspiration right now, and because of that, my work habits have been more intense than they ever are when I'm forcing myself to produce pages every day. When I started writing, I believed in inspiration, and then it became a "job" and inspiration went away, and so did my joy in writing. Then I remembered the muse and inspiration, found my way back, and wow, it's great.

Here's the question, and it's the one I asked myself: if you had to wait for inspiration in order to write one or two really terrific books each year, to enjoy the process, get excited about it, feel great about it, would you rather do that than drive yourself through a punishing schedule to produce 3-5 average reads a year? I chose #1, which is why I only have one book out this year, but I have books I'm writing that I'm really happy with. I'm writing more, and better, than I have in a long time.

I think inspiration, frankly, is worth waiting for, and when it comes, it's like a huge wave that can carry you forward at a tremendous rate if you manage to catch it. No, you can't predict it, you can't schedule it, but you can recognize it when it comes, and I think it will come more regularly once you open to it. There's a certain tension there, wondering if it will carry you through or happen again, but that tension is also a productive thing, something comes out of it, I think. Good things.

Sam

I have come to the point in my life where I believe that everyone is different when it comes to inspiration.

There are people who only work when inspired. Some are geniuses and the wait is worth it. They can’t live if what they produce something mediocre, so they honestly have to wait until that magic moment arrives.

There are people like me, who have flashes of inspiration, but quite often find the inspiration comes while slogging away (when not inspired). In fact, that’s how most of my inspiration comes. I’m an “out of the blue” person. What I need is there, deep in my brain, but it needs the structure of a work schedule to trigger its release. Otherwise, I’ll be doing other things instead of writing, waiting for “inspiration”.

Then there are people who use lack of inspiration as an excuse. I’m not talking about the people who need to feel inspired in order to produce, but rather those that are looking for a reason to excuse themselves from producing. I did this for a while. If I didn’t feel inspired to write, I’d sew. Sewing is easier than writing. Now I stare at a blank screen, fake writing, and I usually find my fingers start taking me places I never knew I was going to go.

This really is a thought provoking post. I think it would be fantastic if everyone was inspired artistically and knew what to do with it - there are so many things I consider artistic that I think there's lots of room for everyone. I do think like Sam said, the problem is with the doing and the recognizing and most of all having the confidence in oneself. I think everyone would be a lot happier if they were able to actually fulfill some of those inspirations. Life does tend to get in the way unfortunately but I think the ones that succeed have all of the above traits and above all, perserverance.

Way to blow out my circuits, Dee! And I'm not sure if it's a good thing that I didn't have time to check in earlier! (Not sure if I would have had more brain cells to respond with or not!)

OK, not sure if any of this is going to be coherent, but I do think of inspiration as the "easy" part--that's the gift, the image, the often-fleeting thought... I think what you do with it is often the hard part, the disciplined nose-to-the-grindstone, paintbrush to canvas, fingers to keyboard, however many hours a day, whatever it takes kind of thing. I think inspiration isn't necessarily rare, but people who make the time to jump on it when it strikes, they're more rare, so we don't have a gazillion brilliant authors/artists/musicians/chefs/computer programmers/whatever because many of us ignore the inspiration when it strikes or have to do the laundry first or something and then maybe when we finally go back, it's gone to visit our neighbors. Also, if you don't put in the effort, unless you're extraordinarily gifted, you don't have the skills in place to articulate the inspiration.

I think usually both inspiration and effort are necessary for brilliance.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble... hope some of it made sense ;)

You still need the energy, time and determination to turn it into something. That's why people come up to writers all the time and say "Wow, you wouldn't believe the story I have, if you write it you can keep half the profits." Strangely, the writers don't usually see this as a big break :-D

I also think inspiration can be generated, ie by sitting down for a good think (chocolate can help...). A flash of magical inspiration can certainly lift a scene you're writing to a new dimension, but if you weren't sitting there writing it in the first place, the opportunity for inspiration wouldn't be there.

I guess I believe inspiration is important, but I wouldn't feel threatened if it was available at Staples, because I suspect most people still wouldn't want to put the elbow grease into using it.

Jen
http://www.jenlewis.com