The Fickleness of the Creative Spirit
Some writers have a muse.
I don't. I have moods.
Some writers have scheduled writing times.
Been there. Done that. Didn't buy the t-shirt because it was too ugly.
I create when the mood strikes me. If you asked Mr. Amazing Dude what this looks like, he'd describe the spark in my eyes that grows into a blazing inferno the longer I sit at my keyboard, frantically trying to capture the story as it rushes through my brain faster than a Japanese bullet train. I may sit for an hour. Sometimes 3 or 4. I may write a page...or maybe 10. I ignore everything else. Eventually my bladder or my stomach dumps a bucket of cold water on the writing fire, bringing me to reality and leaving a couple gleaming embers laying around. I have to nourish these embers. Usually through selected pieces of music, rainy days, art work, nature, scripture, reading other novels, history books, and being in close proximity to Mr. Amazing Dude.
And chocolate of course. Dense, 82% dark organic Ecuadorian chocolate to be exact.
Well, maybe its Ghanaian in origin....
Ahem...the writing mood is a fickle thing. Several writerly advice blogs argue that one can't be a real writer until they take it seriously. By this they mean: wake up at 4:30 every morning and bang out 1,000 words by 6am when presumably you need to get back to the real world. I'm not a morning person, and my creative moods usually don't rouse themselves until at least 9am, often waiting until 7 or 8pm to smack my backside into a chair. I don't like boxing in the creative spirit. Training it, sure, ok, I can do that some.
I also try not to let the very real writing barriers (I apply this word with a strong smear of sarcasm) of working full-time, fighting a chronic illness, andmaintaining growing a healthy marriage keep me from writing a little something each week. (You thought I wrote each day, right? Excuse my muffled laughter. Glad to know I'm not the only crazy idealist around).
It's a rather frenzied process. It's not recommended, but it works for me right now.
And regardless of how pragmatic or utilitarian the last statement sounded, I'm really an idealistic softy at core.
Can you tell I'm in a mood? ;-)
I don't. I have moods.
Some writers have scheduled writing times.
Been there. Done that. Didn't buy the t-shirt because it was too ugly.
I create when the mood strikes me. If you asked Mr. Amazing Dude what this looks like, he'd describe the spark in my eyes that grows into a blazing inferno the longer I sit at my keyboard, frantically trying to capture the story as it rushes through my brain faster than a Japanese bullet train. I may sit for an hour. Sometimes 3 or 4. I may write a page...or maybe 10. I ignore everything else. Eventually my bladder or my stomach dumps a bucket of cold water on the writing fire, bringing me to reality and leaving a couple gleaming embers laying around. I have to nourish these embers. Usually through selected pieces of music, rainy days, art work, nature, scripture, reading other novels, history books, and being in close proximity to Mr. Amazing Dude.
And chocolate of course. Dense, 82% dark organic Ecuadorian chocolate to be exact.
Well, maybe its Ghanaian in origin....
Ahem...the writing mood is a fickle thing. Several writerly advice blogs argue that one can't be a real writer until they take it seriously. By this they mean: wake up at 4:30 every morning and bang out 1,000 words by 6am when presumably you need to get back to the real world. I'm not a morning person, and my creative moods usually don't rouse themselves until at least 9am, often waiting until 7 or 8pm to smack my backside into a chair. I don't like boxing in the creative spirit. Training it, sure, ok, I can do that some.
I also try not to let the very real writing barriers (I apply this word with a strong smear of sarcasm) of working full-time, fighting a chronic illness, and
It's a rather frenzied process. It's not recommended, but it works for me right now.
And regardless of how pragmatic or utilitarian the last statement sounded, I'm really an idealistic softy at core.
Can you tell I'm in a mood? ;-)
yay! a post! cynics are disapointed idealists, my friend. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love the post.
ReplyDeleteAlas, however, I do not have writing moods. I don't like to write... but I love writing.
So I just joined scriptfrenzy.org for the month of April, to re-write a play that my brother and I wrote back in 2005.
I am hoping that inspiration strikes in the doing. Isn't it often how it works anyway, even with moods?
Hm, I think you usually get into writing mode for a bit more than an hour, in fact, 3-4 hours is on the short side :)
ReplyDeleteBut it really is fun to watch, creativity practically glowing from you and streaming into the laptop.
-Mr. Amazing Dude