Doorway to Inspiration
Doorway to Inspiration
A moment of stillness – then enter
Definition of inspiration: “Stimulation or arousal of the mind, feelings, unusual activity or creativity”, (Collins English Dictionary). What excites your mind into a creative mode? I have a friend who keeps a bottle of wine on the desk; another, a flask of coffee; yet another nibbles on snacks for stimulation. For me these are all distractions. What gets your juices flowing?
What excites you enough to make you give up other leisure pursuits; to sit in a solitary room, curtains drawn, instead of out-doors in the fresh air admiring nature or chatting with a friend over coffee. It is because you have always wanted to be a writer. The next question is what will you write about? Perhaps a hobby, a crime thriller or some other genre; perhaps you have had this book simmering in your mind for a long time and it is time to spew it out.
You have now decided on a topic closest to your heart, be it fact or fiction. We discussed writing of a novel on the previous weblog. Well, novels are not everyone’s cup-of-tea. Some folks like to take a subject and study it in depth, making it their life’s work as did Stephen MacKenna, who undertook the translation of Plotinus’s ‘The Enneads’ from Greek into English. He was quite ill by the time he finished some thirty years later. It was his life’s work, written in a cold damp room, poverty stricken and living off the goodwill of those around him. Whenever spirits flag or I am involved in a long research project I think of Stephen and am spurred on. Make no mistake, I am having the best time ever, doing something I love. That is your reward; writing for yourself and not for the public, however, if you have enjoyed the journey so will your reader who chose your book over millions on the shelf to read.
Or you might want to write a book on a technical matter, putting forward your own theory which will benefit society. The choice of topics is enormous. It is important to write with knowledge. Now take that thought and enter the doorway of inspiration and amazing things will happen!
No fireworks will fill the sky! However, an inner sense of excitement will come over you, as you write (type) the first sentence. You feel a high, and it is not the wine. Some days the thoughts just flow and other days you need to go for a walk to clear the head.
The story begins to take shape, generating a feeling of anticipation. You think you are in control of your characters, but they have developed their own personality by now. You are sucked into the story and feel the pain of the victim. Now you are truly immersed and involved and as you are stirred, so will your reader feel the character’s joy and pain.
Bon chance… Usha Mullan
