There is one creative force that we have not spent a lot of time on this year. It is something that every poet and artist has evoked since language began. The muse. The spark. Inspiration. While I have not addressed inspiration directly I have talked about it. I don’t believe that a great artist, writer or baker should sit about waiting for lightning to strike out of the blue. I believe in something fundamentally different. Preparedness.
Inspiration is wonderful, I watched Inception and went home and spat out the start of a new book project. My love of spicey food led me to growing my own peppers. Inspiration is the fuel that gets our dreams going. The spark that launches our dreams into the world. An ignition of creativity and new ideas. Inspiration for a new story idea or project can literally come at any time. That is not the hard part. It’s taking that idea and being ready to do something with it thats hard.
One of the reasons I write this blog is to ensure that I am focused on writing at least once a week. I am sharpening my skills, focusing my mind and bending my creativity towards a single task. I am good at it. When a story idea comes I take it and run with it because I am actively engaged in writing throughout the week. We have to be ready to capture inspiration when it strikes, ready and able to turn it into something more than just a neat idea.
Inspiration does not need to come out of the blue though. We can create it ourselves. Think of the energy you feel when listening to a really good playlist. Or how creative you feel after a night of wonderful conversation with your friends. These types of activities, listening to music, talking with your besties, might not sound awe inspiring but these little moments are vital for our day to day creativity that eventually coalesces into something bigger. Inspiration is not a lightning strike from chance but something that arises out of the background of creativity that you are already fostering.
The things that inspire us are where our dreams first get their spark. Be it a blinding flash of inspiration or a long slow build up of ideas, inspiration is just the start of something bigger. This month I will talk about some of the ways I am inspired. Where my stories and ideas come from is not just a single source but from a myriad of different mediums. What inspires you? What makes you dream big, impossible dreams?