Monday, September 13, 2010

Inspiration Is Fickle

Beware the bitter curse of Inspiration, lest it be clearly labelled.

I read a lot, as can be seen, and I read fast enough that only the last three books plus the best article of my most recent exposure can be credited with influence on my writing. My theory of writing is that if you're writing two-thousand words a day, in possession of your own faculties, whatever other influences are upon you will be subordinate to that goal. If any other writers don't understand that drive, they're more inclined to be remonstrated by more Successful Writers than for you to be mocked as a plagiarist.

Inspiration, as I reckon it the most useful writing skill, is also the least useful. The Most Useful writing skill is perseverance. That is, writing down all that inspiration that haunts your imagination and, sometimes, your dreams. HEY! I can't be too sarcastic, or too insulting. Here and now, sarcasm and insult are only the impetus for you to set out on the writing path

Make it happen.

#

I"m drunk. This fact must be understood from time to time, because I have terrible dreams otherwise. Let's give you an example: One night I dreamt I approached an editor with an exactly plagiarized copy of Shakespeare's King Lear, committed to memory for unrelated reasons. Waking up, I was plagued by ways to make the play unique. I came up with a few before I fell asleep again. And so I dreamed of....well, never mind what I dreamed of.

Oh, America. Even your rowboat ladies are sexy.

----
250 words? Yes
Short Story "The Language of Ice Cubes"
Book "Lived Too Long To Die"
- - - -
Reading - "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" (Robert A. Heinlein)

2 comments:

  1. As they say, "ideas are cheap." And remember, it's "write drunk, edit sober." However, I've always been convinced that the other direction is superior. The drunk has no qualms about being a revolutionary, and sometimes that is what a manuscript requires.

    -bn

    ReplyDelete
  2. I brainstorm drunk (usually with company) then write sober. I don't edit, drunk or sober. I let editors edit. If it sucks, I write something else. Words are cheap, ideas are recyclable.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...