Growing up, I had this idea that the writer's life was suave, glamorous, and a never-ending joy. While some of these may be true at times, I am here to disclose the reality of what we truly experience when we write.
1. Inspiration sometimes comes at the most inconvenient times.
There was a time where I was on a bus in the city and I got a great idea for some song lyrics only to discover I had nowhere to jot that perfect verse down. So, what did I do? I convinced (okay, maybe slightly threatened ) the 8-year old dressed in her Dora dress next to me that she let me borrow her crayon and a page of her coloring book so I wouldn’t lose that brilliance.
However, it does not end there…I cannot tell you how many times I will be laying wide-eyed in my bed when I have a meeting early morning the next day. Suddenly, I jump out of bed because an idea came to mind for my blog or whatever I may be working on at the moment. Fast forward an hour later, I am rejuvenated and at the same time exhausted because midnight inspiration on a weekday isn’t usually the most accommodating thing.
2. Inspiration can be a split-second thought.
You hear a line in a song, you read an excerpt of a book, or a comment someone makes to you in conversation resonates with you….and suddenly, BOOM. It surges through your brain lighting up all your neural connections. Crazy, right? Sometimes, all it takes is one little thing to provoke that domino effect and then writer’s block is no more.
3. The creative process is an emotional roller coaster.
Okay, maybe that is a tad bit dramatic. However, let me explain. As I became more public with my writing, this is how the process went. Initially, you’re on this high and you have an adrenaline rush…your fingers are moving at an ungodly speed and all these scattered thoughts and ideas are suddenly organizing themselves and going to paper (or screen) while also coming to life. Those intangible concepts are developed into a concrete thing and that’s a different kind of amazing. Then, you edit, edit some more, try to add in more imagery and overuse thesaurus.com because you feel that though you are comical, you need to appease to the eloquent crowd as well. After that intense concentration, you hit the “Publish” button. Ah! Complete! Now what? Well, now, you wait. The waiting game is where all the insanity stems from. In the beginning, you feel proud that you have created this piece of art essentially and then as you obsessively check your stats, you begin to wonder. Wait, is this really even that good? Oh my gosh, it’s absolute crap…no one has even liked it. Fast forward a half hour later…oh yes, 37 views! Maybe, this isn’t that bad! To sum it up, we undergo exhilaration then pride then impatience proceeding to doubting our capabilities to being reassured and finally to feeling confident. It is the menstrual cycle on steroids pretty much.
4) That being said, we DO care what you think.
Honestly, let’s be blunt with ourselves. If we didn’t love writing, we wouldn’t do it. Nonetheless, we do care what our readers think. We do not think it is strange that we haven’t spoke to you in ten years and that you read our blog. For goodness sake, it is public for a reason! We have opened up a portion of our lives to you as it is an outlet for us. At the same time, we would like to think that a pair of eyes out there can relate to us. We also are curious as to what your thoughts are! So, reach out, give feedback, and share if you like our work. You are important to our evolution as writers while you continually motivate, challenge, and improve us.
5. Sometimes, small, intimate details from our life can be sewn into the blanket of fiction…and other times, it is JUST PLAIN FICTION.
Many people have this misconception that there is a bit of personal truth in every fictional story from an author’s life. This may be true; on the contrary, I can profess that I have created songs and short stories that are completely derived from my vivid (and sometimes overactive) imagination as well as my wildest dreams. Therefore, what may strike a heart chord may not have necessarily occurred to the mastermind behind the art. And now you know!
Hope you enjoyed this post of Positivity Filter,
-S
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