Writing Without Inspiration - Can it Be Done

I visit a lot of blogs. Probably not more than most, but still a lot. I think. A good number of those blogs are headed up by writers. It's fascinating to me to see how different writers all seem to have different ways to spark their creativity. I also find it interesting that so many seem to adhere to the theory of writing being "1% inspiration and 99% persperation".

I don't buy that at all. I never write unless I am inspired. Not unless it means losing my job if I don't. Even in school, if I had no inspiration I had no story. When given dull assignments which required writing I would inevitably seek my inspiration in sarcasm and parody. Teachers didn't much care for it and graded me down because of it, but I didn't care. I thought the assignment was stupid and I made sure they knew it in a way in which I could not be punished. Let them keep their frikkin' grades. I wanted them to know that I knew they had no sense of humor. Few teachers did when I was in school.

I think there are two reasons why writers/authors say they think writing is mostly work and has little to do with inspiration.

First, that's what everyone else is saying. It's an "emperor's new clothes" kind of thing. No one wants to appear stupid unless, like me, they've reached the point where they don't really give a d*mn anymore.

Second, some actually believe it. But it's not true. I mean, think about it. You're writing a story which requires imagination because it never really happened. That can't be done simply by 'working at it'. No way. If it could, why is it so difficult to write something well?

No. I think people don't understand what inspiration is. They think it is the igniting spark which gets the motor running and then is gone until the engine quits. Not so. Inspiration is fluid. It is the fuel which burns and keeps the motor running. It is work? Sometimes. But that something is work hardly means inspiration is not involved. When a story begins to write itself, and the author must reign in characters to keep them in character, that's inspiration. Finding the next sentence to write is inspiration, even if it takes four hours to find it. It's ALL inspiration. No story can be written without it. Not just at the start, but all the way through.

When inspiration fails, that means the engine has no fuel. The fuel quits flowing and the engine shuts down.

Inspiration comes from many places. We have this thought in our head that it always comes apart from our will. I don't believe that's true at all. Inspiration can be caught even as fish can be caught. It's a question of using the right bait at the right time in the right place. Sometimes the trip produces a large catch. Sometimes the trip is fruitless.

For myself, I often call to the Muses to come and play. Often they do, but sometimes I need to coax them with music, the right kind of daydreaming, and - time.

When I played tennis I would get quite sweaty, tired, and sore. But it was all fun. Sometimes just happened to be more fun than others. The same's true in writing. Sometimes it flows fast and quick. Sometimes it doesn't seem to flow at all. But it's ALL inspiration. That's what I think. Why can't work be inspired, or inspiration be work?

Got an idea for a cute thing. That's my teaser. When I get it going I'll post it.