On Writing: Inspiration

 On Writing: Inspiration

It’s amazing how inspiration for a book never comes to me during the daytime. Time after time, I’ve woken up in the middle of the night (much like tonight—it’s 2:25am) only to be bombarded with an awesome plot premise for a new book.

I guess the important thing though is that inspiration does come; and, regardless of the time of night, you need to act on it, because so much of the craft of writing hinges on inspiration. You can write good prose all day long, but if you’re not inspired, how good is that book really going to be?

Whether writing is a hobby, craft, job, or art for you, don’t let inspiration ever pass you by. In my case, I’m always having to deal with getting the motivation to get out of that warm bed at 1am to jot down some stray thoughts, or to sit and type out a synopsis for a couple hours, knowing full well that I’m not getting those hours of sleep back the next day. But for others it might be carrying a notepad to work or school since that’s when inspiration most often hits you. Or maybe it’s bringing your laptop with you while you’re out at a family gathering or some other recreational activity since those are your inspiration hotspots.

 

Whatever and whenever it is that you most often get inspiration for your writing, make sure you are prepared to heed its call. Treat it like it’s water in a barren desert since, for me, these inspirational downpours aren’t an everyday occurrence.