I liked that line from Music and Lyrics, "Inspiration is for amateurs." Yes, it's cynical, but is it true?
Inspiration is for amateurs
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No, I don't think so. I think relying solely on random attacks of inspiration is a bad idea, and probably an excuse for laziness, but uninspired plodding is an equally bad one.
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When I first started "series" novel writing I had to do it at times when I was inspired, usually late at night and at my desk. Years later I can write effectively anytime of the day and anywhere but I'm constantly being inspired too. Its like a muscle, the more you use it...
If you believe that "professional" is a state of mind as well as a state of pay, as I do, then I totally think it's true.
I'd say it depends on what you mean by "inspiration." I consider "inspiration" simply ideas that spark my writing. I get those every single day. How would I write things without ideas? "Inspiration" is for writers. Period.
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I totally agree with that statement. I know so many people who use the excuse that they aren't "inspired" which is why they haven't written anything.
Yes inspiration is nice, but most of the time, for me at least, writing is just hard work and bum in seat.
Yes inspiration is nice, but most of the time, for me at least, writing is just hard work and bum in seat.
Yes and no. It depends how you mean this.
If you mean waiting for the muse to strike before writing, then, yes, inspiration is for amateurs. Writing professionally is about writing even when you're not in the mood. It's about making the muse work for you, rather than you working for the muse. It takes training and discipline, the same as any other serious task.
If you're talking about finding ideas in unusual places, developing them, running with them, then no, inspiration is not for amateurs. Just this morning, I had the TV on and the person being interviewed said something that had me going, "What if..." and searching for my idea notebook in order to jot ideas for a short story. It was a moment of inspiration that had to be captured and acted on and I loved it, even as I knew other, more mundane writing had to come first.
What the hell are you guys talking about? There's no such thing as inspiration, just good or bad writing.
I agree with Birol. I don't think being 'uninspired' is really an excuse for having nothing to show for your writing. Waiting for the muse to strike is an amateur way of looking at things. I am by no means a professional, but if I don't have the inspiration I need, I search for what will suffice rather than throwing my hands in the air and pulling the pity wagon; music, other pieces of literature, a certain location, eavesdropping (you know you all do it), what-ifs, etc. always seem to put me back in the writing mood. Nothing gets done, otherwise.
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I couldn't disagree more with this statement. How do you measure inspiration? I'm inspired every single morning when I get up to write. Some mornings more than others but if I had no inspiration to write I wouldn't be a writer. If you're writing just to go through the motions then you may as well drive a garbage truck. I'm sure the income is a hell of lot more steady and you don't have to fret about every freakin' move you make.
I think that's the difference: waiting to be struck by inspiration rather than looking for it. The former is what I meant by laziness.
I probably should have waited and let you answer, then just pointed and said "yeah!"
It's an incomplete thought.
Inspiration is for everyone. It makes for great writing and great stories. It produces passion and creates breakthroughs.
Waiting for inspiration is amateurish. If you mean to be a professional writer you can't simply wait for some random gift from a chaotic universe.
Inspiration is for everyone. It makes for great writing and great stories. It produces passion and creates breakthroughs.
Waiting for inspiration is amateurish. If you mean to be a professional writer you can't simply wait for some random gift from a chaotic universe.
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It's one of those lines that are thrown out there just to get a rise out of people because it's so contrary to what you would think.
I hate those.
I hate those.
Not necessarily. I've been perusing this thread waiting to see what most of the professionals here would say, and they're helping me in one very important way to become more professional in my thinking.
So the discussion is actually helpful to those -- like myself -- who have almost always sought for a random idea to strike us alongside the head and give us a story.
Good thread. I'll continue watching it.
--Sean
Also, I think a lot depends upon what the definition of 'inspiration' is. Are we talking in the divine/supernatural sense or just "running with an idea"? I suspect if it's the former, than being an ameteur or professional has little to do with it.
I've read a bunch of writing books (so that like, uh, means I know a lot about writing, ahem...), and I-forget-who wrote something like "The muse is much more likely to strike if you spend a lot of time sitting at the typewriter."
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But what drives that "good or bad writing"? Something has to strike up the muse. Sure, there are people, as some of the earlier posts point out, that use the excuse they can't write without there inspiration. Then there's the rest of us who can't stop the ideas from flowing.
Inspiration comes in many forms, between wild-ass fanciful notions and simple "what ifs" that we all use. We draw from life around us, things we read, conversations spoken across rooms or in crowded restaurants, from games children play, and from idiots we see on the news. Hell, I've been inspired by a filthy, beat up car parked in front of a beautifully maintained house. It's what drives the words.
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I agree with Redzilla--waiting around for inspiration is what's amateurish. Writers need to be writing (or editing, or researching new markets, or doing other things to advance their writing when they're feeling stuck).
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It is through my writing that I get inspiration. I do not wait for it to come over me. It is emitted out of my fingers. The first sentence inspires the next.
Another way to approach the question is this: could you write quality original words to a writing prompt (not just a prompt that inspired you, but one that didn't)? If not, does that mean you're "an amateur"?
Don't say this doesn't happen to novelists -- it happens all the time. Especially when the publisher wants a sequel to a book for which you never intended to write a sequel.
Don't say this doesn't happen to novelists -- it happens all the time. Especially when the publisher wants a sequel to a book for which you never intended to write a sequel.
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Waiting for it is just lazy, but when inspiration presents itself, why not take it? If rudely turning down such a gift is amateurish, then I never want to be a professional.
I absolutely agree. I don't have the luxury to wait for inspiration.
I HAVE to write. It's my JOB. Or part of it anyway.
It ain't cleaning latrines, but it's work.
My muse might have to file her nails for 15 minutes until my caffein kicks in, or I shrug off a particularly foul mood. But basically, I might have a scrap of an amusing idea, and then I just have to start writing, grabbing stuff and pulling it along in with me as I go. If I'm lucky, I make happy surprises along the way. If not, I have to work hard to make the writing make up for it.
Many, many wonderful works were inspired by a fragile idea: an imagined or real couple looking at each other in a car, a line in a newspaper, a sentence of dialog, a hypothetical dilemma. The author then constructs a world to bring this single moment about. 2 percent inspiration, 98 percent perspiration.
I hear amateurs say all the time "I'd LOVE to write a book, but I have no idea what I'd write about!" Then, honey, you're not ready. Read another 200 first.
I have been told that publishing houses have a preference for journalists when awarding book contracts for just this reason. They don't need to wait for inspiration. They just sit down and write, whether they're cold or sick or busy. If you give them an advance check, you're more confident that you'll at least get 300 pages of something out of them approximately on deadline.
I HAVE to write. It's my JOB. Or part of it anyway.
It ain't cleaning latrines, but it's work.
My muse might have to file her nails for 15 minutes until my caffein kicks in, or I shrug off a particularly foul mood. But basically, I might have a scrap of an amusing idea, and then I just have to start writing, grabbing stuff and pulling it along in with me as I go. If I'm lucky, I make happy surprises along the way. If not, I have to work hard to make the writing make up for it.
Many, many wonderful works were inspired by a fragile idea: an imagined or real couple looking at each other in a car, a line in a newspaper, a sentence of dialog, a hypothetical dilemma. The author then constructs a world to bring this single moment about. 2 percent inspiration, 98 percent perspiration.
I hear amateurs say all the time "I'd LOVE to write a book, but I have no idea what I'd write about!" Then, honey, you're not ready. Read another 200 first.
I have been told that publishing houses have a preference for journalists when awarding book contracts for just this reason. They don't need to wait for inspiration. They just sit down and write, whether they're cold or sick or busy. If you give them an advance check, you're more confident that you'll at least get 300 pages of something out of them approximately on deadline.
I find that if I go about diligently working, good things tend to come out of it. In other words, I begin typing and become inspired.
I've heard many professional writers say they love inspiration, or they were inspired by this or that, so I don't agree.
Now saying Professionals don't wait around for inspiration to strike to work I would agree with.
Now saying Professionals don't wait around for inspiration to strike to work I would agree with.
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