Writers draw their inspiration from a variety of sources, it could be from something they’ve read, something they’ve seen, perhaps even something they’ve heard. For myself, the elusive beast of inspiration could be found in a simple piece of music playing in the background, even something as seemingly innocent as a phrase heard in a conversation can yield results. When it comes, it comes in a whole host of guises.
But there have also been a great many times when I’ve sat down at the kitchen table at “stupid o clock” in the morning, with a head crammed full of ideas and a few blank sheets of paper (not forgetting my trusty pint mug of coffee), only to find some four hours later, that the ideas haven’t seen fit to begin the journey from my head to the page.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve woken up “before the lark” as it were, because I felt the overwhelming compulsion to write something—anything, but the words simply won’t come. It’s infuriating to say the least.
When I first started on my writing journey, I read a lot of writing articles from other writers to find out how they dealt with this issue, most of which I found extremely useful (so much so that I began to collect them).
Some suggested that I write purely from the heart, whilst others suggested that I write down what’s in my head at the time, irrespective of whatever it may be.
Following this advice and still gathering writing articles, I amassed not only a rather sizeable collection of writing articles, but also a huge pile of nonsense ramblings. Why? Because I’m a writer, and I simply have to write something. After all is said and done, isn’t that what writers are supposed to do?
There may come a time when the nonsense ramblings can be turned into something not quite so nonsensical and put to good use. There may also come a time when they will all tie together in some semblance of a story, but that’s for some other time.
When the words don’t come easy, I can still be found at some ungodly hour sitting at the kitchen table with my trusty pint mug of coffee, staring intently at the computer and hammering away at the keys to create some lengthy piece of gibberish to pacify the beast of creativity. Why do I do this to myself you might ask, to be perfectly honest I’ve asked myself the same question many times, and the answer is, because I’m a writer … and writers write.
Shaun McBride.
Comments