Inspiration

As much as writers love what they do, it can occasionally be likened to having teeth drilled. We slog away at our computers the same as anyone else with a job. Most of us don't even have the satisfaction of coworkers with whom to share ideas or workloads.  Why would any semi-sane person want to do this?

Because inspiration.

Writing is an art, the same as painting or sculpting. You are creating a medium to be consumed, digested, and reacted to by the public. Sometimes the reactions are good and sometimes not. Sometimes, a bad review can crush the will to do it out of you. But once in a while, we are hit by that blazing light of "Oh, man, that is an idea!" and rush back to our computers to pound out a flurry of words that keep us up well into the wee hours.

This happened to me this week. Most days, I write to get the words down then worry about editing it into something readable later. I rarely have that "zone" or writing sprint where it goes from brain to page without much tinkering in between. When that serendipity does happen, I can usually blame it on music. I heard a song that, magically, fit the scene I was working as though the singer had written it just for me. I hit my computer, and in the past two days, managed to get out what would be, for me, two weeks of work. That, right there, is what keeps me doing this sometimes-frustrating, usually puzzling, always exciting job. The work I put out during those moments of inspiration really is like magic to me. It makes up for every single difficult thing the writing life throws at me. I know other artists get those moments of clarity in creation, but I wonder if other jobs are anything like this. I feel sorry if they're not.

Because why wouldn't someone do this?

Hope you're all having a great Saturday. I think I'll just sit back and breathe a big sigh of satisfaction now. Happy reading!