Inspiration
Tonight I speak at the Midlothian Middle School Book & Author meet and mingle event. Apparently, I am supposed to speak on "anything," but they suggested either what inspires me or what inspired the latest Magickeepers book.
I have a little speech all planned. I know what inspired the Magickeepers books. But I thought about the larger question, too. What, exactly, inspires me?
When you write to support a large family, I have to be honest. Paying the mortgage inspires me. I dropped $800 last night for new bedroom furniture so my parents don't have to sleep on an air mattress when they come for the winter, so . . . that inspires me. I'm inspired, in a sense, by being ill, so I work hard when I feel well enough.
But the bigger thing? I'm not sure. When I read Margaret Atwood . . . I am inspired. When I listen to great music . . . inspired. When I see a fantastic movie, I am aware of the dialogue often, the writing contained within it . . . and I am inspired.
I love a good call story.
Maybe it's that I am relatively happy . . . so I don't think about inspiration a lot. I just do it (see yesterday's post). So I turn it to YOU.
What inspires you to write?
14 comments:
You know, I've tried to not write. Really, I've taken huge amounts of time where I didn't write one lick, thinking that it just didn't matter, always falling into the dumps for whatever reason. But then I found that I have an insistent muse. Always feeding me story ideas, or reminding me of the one left dormant on the flash drive. Some things I just can't stop.
But my biggest inspiration of late was the passing of Belva Plain. Little did I realize that her first novel was published when she was 63. Now THAT'S inspiring news, may she rest in peace (her last book published when she was 93...).
Kath;
REALLY? 63! Wow! Thanks for sharing that tidbit. God bless her!
Like you, I'm inspired by mortgage payments, etc., although that's a somewhat glib way of saying it.
I think there's a little more nuanced way of looking at it, although it amounts to the same thing. That is, working for yourself, working out of yourself, having ownership of what you do, not having a boss, having a reasonably flexible schedule, etc., is a lifestyle that to me is worth the insecurity, the ups and downs, and the occasional aggravation. It's worth protecting, too, so I work my ass off to make sure I get to keep this lifestyle.
Is that inspiration? Yes, sure.
What else, though. Well, I'm addicted to the written word, to transferring my thoughts to the page.
I'm intellectually curious, and nonfiction writing feeds that.
I love a good story, and I'm addicted to my own, being the first person to "read" THAT story, to try and share it with other people, my vision of alternate realities, or perhaps my vision of MY alternate realities.
Mark:
I know I process the world like a writer, so I think I tend to just think, "That's how I see the world"--not necessarily finding it inspirational so much as "it's what I do."
And yeah . . . I am most definitely tied to the lifestyle. I honestly thought today (not a good morning) that there would be NO WAY I could face a commute today farther than my desk chair downstairs.
I love lyrics to great rock and punk music. I'm no poet and doubt I ever will be, but I love that. The imagery inspires.
But then yesterday someone mentioned something on FB about a group of obnoxious people and I thought, YES! They're going in my next book!
Sometimes I feel like I live in the asteroid belt when it comes to ideas.
I hope your day improves!
Starbucks:
LOVE that analogy--asteroid belt. :-)
I agree on the lifestyle. I suspect I'm pretty much incapable of working for someone else at this point. I like having my freedom. I have trouble with walls. I need windows.
Money helps motivate me, but not much. Reading good books helps, although it's hard to find the truly awesome books that grab me, lately. Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it's a habit. I can be inspired or uninspired, and yet there I am writing every day. I mostly focus on not getting burnt out and improving, rather than getting inspired.
Natasha:
I can't imagine being in an office either. And I get pretty burned out on people--i.e., I love (!) socializing, but day-to-day in an office, 8 hours a day? Likely not for me anymore.
I want to make a difference. Not sure if it matters what kind of difference (except not a bad one) or how many people/kids it affects. I just want to change someone's life for the better.
I don't think that's too much to ask. And I think that answers my own question of which book to work on now.
And if it also pays the mortgage, that would be awesome.
I become most inspired in the middle of writing something. Unexpected changes in characters and events inspire me. I begin writing often uninspired, praying for that moment when things click. Occasionally the moment happens.
Sarah:
Wow . . . thanks. THAT comment was inspiring!
Joe:
Very cool. I often am surprised when I get my editor's rewrite notes, and I go back into a book I haven't been inside in a couple of months . . . to see how inspired I am to make it better, to do the rewrite, and to discover things I didn't "see" last time I was in there!
I am inspired by movies, music and the success stories of my fellow writers in the world of literature. I have also learnt that when you pump your imagination with afew litres of beer, it can also be very inspiring! ;)
It is weird to say that my inspiration is regret?
I regret that for a time in my life I gave up writing. And I don't want to have that regret again, so I keep going. Because writing is what I really want to do.
I also get inspired by clever movie trailers, great books, and touching stories I hear in every day life.
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