Inspiration

Inspiration is a funny thing. Often it comes like a lightning bolt out of nowhere and suddenly you have this great idea that you just need to write down. Other times it slowly dawns on you, forming like a foetus in your mind that slowly grows into a more mature idea resplendent with metaphorical fingers and toes. Personally, I find the best (and often most annoying) time for inspiration is the few minutes before sleep. There’s nothing to distract you, and you’re relaxed enough to just let it come. And sometimes, you are inspired by seeing others being inspired.

Bored with nothing to do except browse the internet with something to watch, I saw a banner for Califonication, the comedy drama about a writer in LA. I rather like David Duchovny, despite his sometimes wooden acting, and so I gave it a shot. I was laughing within 5 minutes of the first episode, and so I continued on with it, digesting the rather convenient 30 minute episodes until I had caught up to what is being released today.

The funny thing is Duchovny plays a writer experiencing a rather dry spell, and while I’m not in the same situation, I’ve not written anything of length for quite a long time. Halfway through the first series he finishes his first novel in 5 years, and seeing this a funny thing happened to me; I wanted to do the same.

Now I’m not going to lay the responsibility for my current urges solely on the feet of Californication. This blog has played it’s fair part in getting me writing something, anything again, along with my Creative Writing module at University. I think all three things combined have awoken the urge to write something of substance again. It’s just figuring out what.

As you can tell from the wide array of stuff I’ve written here in the last two month’s, I don’t have an issue with ideas. It’s just finding one that lasts longer than a page or two. The problem with me is that the instant I know how something is going to end, I tend to lose interest. So what I’m going to have to do is come up with a premise so promising that I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it still forms the right way. It’s a challenge, but I think I’m up to it. Well, I’m at least up for it, so I guess that counts for something. Watch this space.