Or, more aptly put, what is your inspiration? If you’re reading this blog, you’ve either got a book published, you’re working on one or at least have a sneaking interest in the subject. Ah, you’ve got a little madness to ya, I see. No need to be alarmed. We’ve all got the crazy syndrome, and just some more than others.
Writers are known to be a little more eccentric and in fact can be known as crazy. I sympathize with Captain Jack Sparrow: “Crazy people don’t know they’re crazy. I know I’m crazy, therefore I’m not crazy.” I can fully assure you that I am crazy. However, without my random crazy weirdness, were would my writing be?
There are many things that can motivate you to write. I write because I love to write and tell stories. Some people write because they must. (I’m looking at you, college crowd) Some people write because they want to eventually make a lot of money. There are many, many other reasons.
However. Every writer has that one thing that they look to when they’re in the depths of tiredness, wear and tear: this truly is your inspiration. You can come back after your shift, and you’re almost totally worn out–almost. You look forward to a shower, then probably a movie or some video games, and then a duly portioned 8-hour segment of sleep.
But then you remember your inspiration. “I always wanted to be a writer because X,” you reflect. “It’s been a dream of mine. Maybe it’s not a big dream, maybe it’s a gigantic one, but I’ve dreamed that I would become a writer.” And just like that, you leave the shower and movie for later (perhaps to be forgotten) and you write.
This is your dream, your inspiration, your vision. It lights your candle in the beginning and keeps it burning on rainy days and long, dark nights. Every time you feel discouraged, you look to your vision, and look away with a renewed will. So your inspiration is not something to lose sight of.
When you think about it, writing is a form a madness. There are far better ways to get your ideas out there. Try going into politics. Or joining a reform effort. Your book self-published as a kindle e-book is pretty unlikely to change the world. But if you’re a writer, how wrong does that seem to you?
The influence of your book depends on the work you put into it. The harder you push down on the scale, the greater weight the scale will measure. The harder you work, the better you engineer your characters, the more work you put into fixing plot holes, and the research you took to make bad jokes all contribute to your book’s impact and influence.
However, this is all predicated off how long and hard you work. Of, course, long and hard are not words you may be friends with. In order to motivate yourself to work long and hard, you need a big slab of chocolate cake or some moolah. In a pinch, an inspiration works just as well.
Your inspiration helps you to do things that you would otherwise not. This is why it’s so important. Ask yourself: why am I writing? If I were to be super tired tomorrow, and not want to write, what would I look to to give me the guts to go on? Don’t ever let yourself lapse into writing “just because”.
Good luck, and happy writing!
The Writer's Rack 