Elements of Fiction (88)

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lean on, a mother to consult, a wisdom to pick up stumbling folly, a strength in weakness and a courage to support sick cowardice. And how any negative or despairing approach can pretend to be literature I do not know.”</p><p id="1532">And I love this form Lu Chi, “The poet stands at the center of a universe, contemplating the enigma, drawing sustenance from masterpieces of the past.”</p><p id="a597">While Flannery O’Connor muses, “I think the writer is initially set going by literature more than by life.”</p><p id="2ece">“The writer is initially inspired less by life than by the work of his predecessors.”</p><p id="e0ed">As for Lee Smith, “The moment when I am writing fiction is that moment when I am most intensely alive. This ‘aliveness’ does not seem to be mental, or not exactly. I am certainly not <i>thinking</i> while I write. Whatever I’m doing is almost the opposite of thinking.”</p><p id="6a0a">My own take, “Inspiration is the spirit breathing, writer and reader both, for true art is always inspirational.”</p><p id="0564">And I like this from Jim Harrison, “The actual muse is the least civil women in the history of earth. She prefers t

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o sleep with you when you’re a river rather than a mud puddle.”</p><p id="2c69">Glenn Gould puts it this way, “The purpose of art is the lifelong construction of a state of wonder.”</p><p id="8768">And let’s leave it with Doris Lessing, “The essential question is: Have you found a space, that empty space, which should surround you when you write? Into that space, which is like a form of listening, of attention, will come the words, the words your characters will speak, ideas — inspiration.”</p><p id="a87e">Happy writing.</p><p id="1fc5">© Wolfstuff</p><div id="989b" class="link-block"> <a href="http://wolfstuff.com"> <div> <div> <h2>Wolfstuff</h2> <div><h3>So, who am I? Really really. I could tell you that I was born in northern Sweden during a snow storm, and subsequently…</h3></div> <div><p>wolfstuff.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*WygBF5r8aIVWCQ_B)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Element 88: Inspiration

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I believe that Inspiration is an element that is shared by writer and reader. When writing is going well, when words fall from the clouds and bounce just right, that’s inspiration, and the reader, infected by this delight feels inspired as well. By memory as fictional element I primarily think of flashbacks. It’s an often used technique or device, but not much commented on.

Or as John Gardner puts it, “Joy, the incomparably rich experience we ask and expect of all true art, that delight and enliven the soul.”

Jon Steinbeck puts it this way, “There is one purpose in writing that I can see, beyond simply doing it interestingly. It is the duty of the writer to lift up, to extend, to encourage. If the written word has contributed anything at all to our developing species and our half developed culture, it is this: Great writing has been a staff to lean on, a mother to consult, a wisdom to pick up stumbling folly, a strength in weakness and a courage to support sick cowardice. And how any negative or despairing approach can pretend to be literature I do not know.”

And I love this form Lu Chi, “The poet stands at the center of a universe, contemplating the enigma, drawing sustenance from masterpieces of the past.”

While Flannery O’Connor muses, “I think the writer is initially set going by literature more than by life.”

“The writer is initially inspired less by life than by the work of his predecessors.”

As for Lee Smith, “The moment when I am writing fiction is that moment when I am most intensely alive. This ‘aliveness’ does not seem to be mental, or not exactly. I am certainly not thinking while I write. Whatever I’m doing is almost the opposite of thinking.”

My own take, “Inspiration is the spirit breathing, writer and reader both, for true art is always inspirational.”

And I like this from Jim Harrison, “The actual muse is the least civil women in the history of earth. She prefers to sleep with you when you’re a river rather than a mud puddle.”

Glenn Gould puts it this way, “The purpose of art is the lifelong construction of a state of wonder.”

And let’s leave it with Doris Lessing, “The essential question is: Have you found a space, that empty space, which should surround you when you write? Into that space, which is like a form of listening, of attention, will come the words, the words your characters will speak, ideas — inspiration.”

Happy writing.