An interesting thing happened to me on Sunday night, and in my attempts to be more personal and open with you guys, I thought I’d share it with you.
I became inspired. I met inspiration. The taskmaster and–though often not permanent–companion of the working artist. And like a bomb blast in my head, a story came to me.
It was funny. I was at a play, and right in the middle of it, a single sentence slammed into my head so fucking hard that I nearly said it aloud. It echoed, and made my eyes wide with excitement.
And once I got home—after some discussions with fellow artists–I stayed up till 4:30 A.M. making sure it came out of my head and onto paper.
And I’m sorry to say it’s not something I can share with you guys, at least not right now. It’s a big project. And who knows where I’ll go with it. But, this whole thing got me thinking–about a couple of things. But mostly about inspiration.
Because, well, it’s not always a thing we talk about is it? It’s not something teachable. Or quantifiable. Writing is a disciplined art and learning to work without a muse is essential. But sometimes we do get a large burst of creativity. Sometimes we do get the almost play-disrupting brainchild.
And when that happens, what should we do with it?
Well, it may not be the same for you, but what I’ve learned, and what I do: is instead of launching into just writing the thing, I pour all of that spark into an outline. I mark down the whole plot. I make a future roadmap and a concise construction.
And then, once I know where I’m going with it, I get the discipline part in and get the shit done. A day at a time.
Because, believe it or not, inspiration is just another tool to wield. A not predictable tool, certainly. But also certainly: not your boss.
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