I had a blog topic
all ready to go for today, when that rotten Clare London beat me to it in her
post on sequels and series. Worse yet,
she did a very fine job of it.
Mild panic ensued. I
had nothing else lined up—I was a dry well, an empty envelope, a blank page. It
had finally happened: creativity had deserted me.
Which led me to wondering
about the nature of artistry, and in particular, the nature of creativity and
inspiration. Unlike other writers I know, I don’t live in a cloud of creativity
and leave a trail of ideas wherever I go. Persistence drives me more than
inspiration does.
And yet… And yet,
even I have been touched by inspiration. It’s a wonderful feeling. To catch
fire from an idea and to be unable to do anything else until that idea, that
scene, that short story is written down and captured. To be inspired is to be
blessed, to be touched by the Muse.
Elizabeth Gilbert,
who wrote Eat Pray Love, does a
wonderful TED talk on genius. She means
genius in the ancient sense of the word, what today we think of as inspiration.
Gilbert discusses the
“maddening capriciousness” of the creative process in the context of writing her
next book after the phenomenal success of Eat
Pray Love. Anyone who has ever felt the touch of inspiration knows what it’s
like to return to the everyday once the creative fire has moved on. How do you
keep writing, when you don’t know if you’ll ever be touched by “genius” again?
You keep showing up
and doing the work, that’s how.
Gilbert tells a
delightful story about the American poet Ruth Stone who grew up on a farm and whose
poems rushed toward her over the landscape on a thunderous train of air. Stone
would have to drop everything and run as fast as she could to the farmhouse to
find a piece of paper on which to capture the poem as it swept by, else it would
be lost to her.
What an image, eh? A
poem thundering across the landscape, coming for you, and you had better be
ready to capture it. So when inspiration comes calling, be ready.
Marcelle
11 comments:
Inspiration tends to strike at the most inconvenient moments....never when I'm at the keyboard or have paper and pen in hand.
That was beautiful!
@JB Lynn -- I know, eh? I want to do like Tom Waits and say, "Can't you see I'm driving?"
@Thanks, Belinda!
A lovely post, Marcelle and I found it inspiring. I guess that's why we carry little pads and a pen in our bags and keep one of each by our beds.
Elise, I try not to leave home without a pad of paper and a pen. The trick is pulling the car over without killing myself...
I live in a cloud alright. :)
Maybe it's the programmer in me, but I am more analytical than inspirational...does that make sense? Remember, I live in a cloud!
Maureen, if you live in a cloud, does that mean you're an air head...?
Great post and *many* apologies for nabbing your topic!! Make sure you post on it again, I'm sure we'll have new and different ideas to share :)
I love that you caught the essence of living with inspiration. I've been known to scribble ideas on paper serviettes in a restaurant, on cinema tickets in the dark during the film, on the grocery bill in the supermarket...the problem is trying to decode them later! :)
I've forgiven you, Clare. :-)
A great post, Marcelle. I love the idea of a poem thundering across the landscape.
Inspiration usually calls on me when I'm a) in the shower or b) out in the hills with the dogs. If only it came at more convenient times!
Great post.I'm glad to see people are still interested of Article.Thank you for an interesting read.........
Online Dating Services coupon code
Post a Comment