In Writing, Inspiration Can Come From Anywhere
As a fantasy writer you get ideas from everywhere and no where all at the same time. Some days a ton of ideas hit you and you just go with one or two or them. Other days nothing comes and you just go with what you have already or don’t worry about it. You can force yourself to write but you can’t force it to be good. But there are some days when the clarity just hits you hard and you know what you write from this piece of inspiration will be great, no matter what anyone else says.
Being part of the SCA has been a great experience for me in many ways. I have learned a lot about myself and what I can and can not handle. I have learned more about my tolerance for pain. And it is very funny how years ago when I did not think I could take the hits in heavy weapons, that now I show off my bruises. But watching some of the fighters who have been doing this for a while are a highlight.
One of them I am still terrified to fight. It is not that he is better than me, which actually means nothing because I have fought other people better than me and survived. He is just intense. In melee he either races in ahead of everyone else and dies or takes out three to four people before the rest of the group catches up. He is scary to watch. This intensity is seen in single combat as well
What does this have to do with writing and inspiration? That image of him racing in to fight during the melee must have made an impression on me because the other night I woke up to it and thought how there is a story to it. I am not sure just what yet but I know that since I saw it with such clarity a tale will emerge over the coming weeks.
There are times, such as these, that I wish these flashes of greatness would come sooner and faster so I could be the great published writer I want to be. And I am sure some would say it takes me writing all the time to be that person. In a way I do not disagree. But at the same time when I have seen some people forced to write, it has not been as good as when inspiration has hit. So I say write when the inspiration hits.