Where does it come from? What happens when one suddenly gets a ‘lightbulb’ go on? You can be anywhere, and it can happen at any time – day or night.
Although I am an editor and publisher, spinner and knitter, I have never considered myself a ‘writer’. But there are occasions when inspiration just happens and a whole lot of words will appear in my head, crying out to be documented on paper. Writing for me is a thing of ‘inspiration’ and hopefully, I’ll have pen and paper handy to write it down as once its gone, it never seems to reappear. Or at least, not in the same way. It comes and goes, and usually very fast. One minute its kind of just tumbling out, then next – whooosh, gone. I envy those authors who can just call it up at will, its something that many of us would love to be able to do…
Writing inspiration comes from many avenues and angles – when one least expects it! I was sitting on the bed this morning, sorting out my knitting patterns and going over the one I am going to be using next, when words started to tumble out. Needless to say, I did not have pen and paper handy so didn’t get them down before my thoughts travelled to another place, albeit, back to the pattern I was studying.
Authors who can sit and write, and it just keeps coming, are a force to be reckoned with. There are so many thousands of authors out there, and so few have the opportunity to have their books printed and published. Many thousands of very good books are crying out to be read and so many people would gain from reading them.
How does inspiration happen? What thought processes drop into place? Inspiration can come from so many avenues – some of us have to work a little harder than others and if we look around, there are so many possibilities. It might sound corny, but even watching trees swaying in the breeze can relax the mind enough to let the words flow. I find it easier to write when I am really passionate about something, be it an article or a short story. Writing can often be inspired by events or interests, whether fact or fiction. To have enough knowledge or ideas to extend those thoughts into a book is one mean feat.
There are so many ways to find inspiration, particularly on those days when it will just not flow. With the internet today, finding information is unlimited, and therefore finding inspiration follows – Online magazines, blogs, forums of interest, history, children, art, hobbies, news, and the list goes on.
If you already have thoughts of what you would like to write about, get the outline down on paper. From there you can expand on the original idea, and it will continue to grow. The story or plot can be nurtured, the characters moulded into what you want them to be, adding and removing as your story emerges and matures.
Stress blocks creativeness. Fact. It stops the thinking processes and everything comes to a halt. Should that happen, do something different, change a routine, go meet up with a friend for a coffee – its amazing how chatting with people whose company you enjoy can relieve stress. Put the writing aside for a while and read a good book, go walking in a place where you feel enlightened, listen to your favourite music, play (not ‘work’) with your hobby or interest. I find for myself that my knitting, spinning, reading or walking amongst trees de-stress me. What de-stresses you? Think about it, then put it into action.
For me, my passion is knitting and spinning – I love the creativity and endless possibilities of it. Throw into the mix natural dyeing, a huge range of yarns and natural fibres, different ways of knitting and spinning, add a few sheep and alpacas for extra interest, and I have the makings of a book. It just takes some thought processes to put things into place, draw up an outline of what I want in the book and grow it from there. If I were to write a book, and that is a good possibility, it will be about my passion. Usually, with passion comes good and interesting reading. Having fun is the essence of anything creative, and with knitting and spinning, I have fun. I love the creative processes of creating my own yarn, designing how I would like the yarn to be, then designing the pattern of what I will create with that yarn. Writing a book works on the same processes. For those who love writing as their main passion, it shows in their work and those books make excellent reading.
Do you have ‘ideas’ mumbling around in your head? Thoughts that ‘one day’ you would like to write a book? Don’t wait for ‘one day’, that day will never arrive. Start now! Buy a journal or notebook and put your thoughts onto paper. You will be amazed at what happens when you write things down, it concretes those thoughts and then you keep adding to them. There is the essence of your book. The beginnings of your outline. The making of your time of writing fun. See your book complete. See it published. See it being sold to all those readers who will love your story or topic. You will be sideswiped at how powerful doing that can be.
Most of all – HAVE FUN. That is what writing is all about. And in doing this, your readers will have fun too.