Inspiration

You sit down, and you think – but nothing comes out of that pen. No, the pen has ink, but you’re brain-dead. It’s a problem that we’ll all feel as writers, whether it be temporarily, or when we are in a “dry spell” phase, in which we cannot find that source of motivation. Some call it a “muse”, or someone who brings along the artistic stimulation to the mind that has helped many (as it probably did with William Shakespeare at many times in his mysterious life). Face it. Without inspiration, there is nothing. Without it, threw would be no creations…  No artwork, as there would be no deviant ART without (and, this statement may be controversial at these times, so bear with me) Scott Jarkoff’s brilliant original idea. Yes, ideas – inspiration’s devious little creations. But where do we find this? Simple.

My source of inspiration is life. I try to maintain three blogs (or, online journals), each one serving it’s own purpose and writing style. This both trains my writing skills, and serves as a tool to take out all inspiration on. You see, inspiration only stays for a certain time. You may want to refer to it as somewhat of an expiry date (much like the one on the month-old milk that has been rotting in my fridge for some time now). You have to use it when you feel it. Sometimes I’ll be sleeping and will have had a dream – and when I wake I remember that dream and want to make a story out of it. Sure, my entire body is dead (not literally), but chances are when I awake next (normally in the next 10-12 hours) I’ll have forgotten about what I had just “experienced”.

A muse. That wonderful person that brings fourth emotions that no one else can (in both positive and negative aspects). But, my definition goes farther than the one that may be found in an Oxford dictionary – it applies itself to everything in this world, whether be it an article of clothing or your favourite dish of pasta. It may be that horrible stench of body odour in a crowd, or the wondrous perfume your favourite waitress wears as she serves you your daily cup of coffee. For myself, inspiration comes from everywhere – even my pen. It may be a late, sleepless night and I may have nothing to busy myself with. Grabbing pen and paper, I write. Although usually scattered thoughts across lined paper, sometimes ideas will form that may inspire me (something I will get to in a moment) and will further change events that happen in stories I write.

This is my practice. It is something that keeps my mind (and wrist) from “rusting”. For inspiration is nothing you can see or find, but is something you feel when the “mood” is right. As mentioned previously, I maintain three journals, all of which test my writing and it’s borders. As the old saying goes, “practice makes perfect,” and it is oh so true.

Plagiarism is a huge problem (epidemic, if you will) in our society today. There is a large difference from being inspired by someone’s works and totally ripping it off (from whatever media you’d like this to refer to). You may, one day, find a deviant and read his or her latest prose piece to find it an insurmountable source of inspiration. From it, you may decide to write a story – and it may even change your writing style. For myself, I’ll read a book I love (such as the most recent, “Tuesdays with Morrie” written by Mitch Albom) and instantly the writer’s style will stick. This shows contrast between by works (although not shown on deviant ART for purposes known only to myself). But (and I can be found to go against this) you cannot steal or use their work. Usually, you’ll stick with the writing style for a day or two, and it will somehow “blend” with your previous writing style – making something even more interesting.

You can’t write without inspiration. Well, technically you can write – but it is nothing without that motivation… That anxiousness to sit down to pen on paper and letting your hand do all the writing. It’s amazing the difference between things written with inspiration, and ones that were (with lack of a better term) “forced”. Being a judge of the first contest here in the club, I could tell those who were forcing out imagination and ones who actually had it, and were letting it go in a solid, fluid piece. We, as artisans and writers, are an imaginative bunch that uses both wit and imagination to make simple things remarkable. We make emotions obvious. We’ll sit down angry, and come out with a emotional piece that make us realise our wrongs, or sit down happy and come out with the same thing.

It’s all about taking things out of life. Whether we realise it or not, most of us (as studies have determined) write to try to cope with personal issues. It’s a harmless way of letting go of things we know we’ve held on too tight to, and without it most of us would be in the psychiatric wings of our respective hospitals.  It’s that emotional release, that when you’re done you sit back and breathe a deep sigh or relief – somewhat of that of completing a marathon.  If this inspired you at all (although it serves to be incredibly ironic), then take that and go out there, young grasshopper, and find that person, object, or whatever - that gives you the bottomless ocean of idea that we need to create, and be imaginative!