Wow, it's been over a week since I've blogged. It's not that I don't have anything I want to say, it's just that I have trouble finding the time to say it. Much like my prose writing.
My writing albatross recently has been the question of inspiration. (And the
inspiration for the silly title of this blog entry is courtesy of the original
Electric Company...) Do you write only when inspired, or seek inspiration through writing? Both have happened to me.
I particularly enjoy writing when the former situation occurs. I'll be idly reviewing ideas or recent plot points in my mind, when suddenly the planets align, all the gears mesh, and I see something grand. I'll be struck with an urgent desire—actually, more a
need—to record this flash of insight, and I'll rush to the keyboard. These are the most satisfying writing sessions.
But far more common is the latter course of events. I'll sigh, sit down at the computer, and begin trying to flesh out characters, add new dialogue, make the plot interesting. Often, the process of writing will lead to some spark of inspiration, and I'll contribute something meaningful to the prose for that session. Sometimes, though, inspiration eludes, and these are the most discouraging moments for me as an author.
NaNoWriMo is a month wherein one seeks inspiration through the mechanics of writing, every day. Without the immediate accountability of that community hanging over my head, though, I find myself generally waiting for the hit-or-miss writing-when-inspired events, rather than initiating the more reliable writing-to-be-inspired ones. It takes a certain amount of willpower to write toward inspiration, not unlike the drive one needs to roll out of bed for an early morning training run.
I've been lax with running, too, since the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, so there are
two areas of my life which need prompt attention. All right then, this is the week. Let's go.