A Word on Inspiration

Inspiration comes in all forms, and we can never truly know where or when it will find us throughout the day, week or year. Most often, something as simple and ordinary as the falling of rain, the changing of the seasons, or even coming across a particularly soulful song can create a spark that ignites the flame of inspiration. 

When writing, finding ways to maintain that initial flicker and use it to carry yourself through the writing process, from brainstorming to plotting, to finally writing your first draft, can sometimes seem like an uphill battle. It is so easy to become immersed in the writing process itself and begin to lose those feelings of excitement. I myself have experienced this with many of my projects, having focused too deeply on the process, stressing over the minute details of plotting, planning, and world building, until I had either lost interest in the story idea altogether or moved on to something else entirely.

Feeding the desire to express oneself creatively is extremely important, whether it be writing, painting, or any other form of artistic solace, but too easy is it to lose momentum and drift away from the coastline of inspiration. I believe that my drive for perfection; the perfect moment, the perfect line, the perfect story, has been a key hindering factor in my progress and ultimately causes me to lose interest. Although difficult, in recent weeks I have had to come to terms with the fact that there will not always be a perfect time to begin writing, and if I continue to strive for a perfect anything, I will more than likely spend the rest of my life waiting to set ink to paper. 

So, how do we keep our inspiration and excitement for our writing projects intact and thriving throughout the process of brainstorming and drafting? I can only speak to my own methods and experiences and it is important to note that this is something that I have struggled with for the better part of my writing journey thus far. The balance of perfectionism when trying to build something from essentially nothing more than an idea can be quite humbling. During the times when I find my inspiration and motivation faltering or becoming overshadowed by the more nuanced aspects of writing, I like to take a step back from my storyline and shift my focus towards the more imaginative side of the process. Drawing from different mediums of art, I try to piece together vision boards and playlists that reflect and capture the emotions and visual representations I intend to weave into my storyline. 

Pinterest and Spotify are my best and most used resources in regards to reigniting the excitement I once felt for my writing projects, and these are tools that I can refer back to throughout the process in order to maintain that enthusiasm as I progress through the plotting and drafting stages. When I feel that I am “falling out of love” (if you will) with a writing project, there is nothing that brings me back in tune with my storyline quite like listening to a playlist, specifically built for the purpose of imbedding myself into the fictional world I have created, and heading out for a walk. In much the same manner, using Pinterest to accumulate photos and different forms of art mediums in a single location that reflect the settings and characters, has an interesting effect in which it peaks my interest further and allows me to immerse myself in the world I am attempting to build on paper. 

I will say, however, that these resources can become a form of distraction and contribute to procrastination, so it is best to have some boundaries or time limits set. I have lost myself more than a handful of times, browsing pinterest and spotify with a blank document open and waiting silently in the taskbar of my macbook for inspiration to hit and the words to begin flowing. A cautionary tale of moderation, as with anything else we would encounter in life. 

In any case, inspiration is all around us, and sometimes even something as simple as just a change of scenery can make the difference between shelving a project or moving forward with it.

Hanna B.