3 ways to keep writing with or without inspiration

Relying heavily on something so elusive as writing inspiration may curtail our ability to write

When I say I participate in NaNoWriMo and have had for twelve years, the reaction I get most often from writers who have never taken part is: I wouldn’t be able to write at command.

By this, they mean that it is only possible to write when at least a modicum of inspiration is involved. We all know inspiration doesn’t happen all the time, so it is impossible always to be able to write, and so it is impossible to write for 30 days consecutive, as NaNoWriMo encourages us to do.

When we place so much faith in something so elusive and consider it almost a talisman, we curtail our ability to perform the task

It’s precisely this kind of attitude that kills inspiration. When we place so much faith in something so elusive and consider it almost a talisman, we curtail our ability to perform the task. I don’t want to take anything away from inspiration, but we shouldn’t be so quick at dismissing skills and knowledge. Relying so heavily on inspiration — or rather on the idea, on the dream of inspiration — may end up stiffening our creative juices. In truth, we can write every day. And write good stuff.

When inspiration strikes

It seems to be a well-rooted idea that creative people may only create when inspiration strikes them and that being inspired is critical to the creation of anything. I put this down on the Romantics, who believed that the artist is a special human being, someone with a unique sparkle in them. Sometimes I think we still cling to that Victorian ideal that even other creatives, like for example artisans, don’t share in that special state. After all, artists only create when the holy light of inspiration rains down on them, artisans create all the time. Artists create, artisans work.

I won’t try to belittle the value of inspiration. When it happens, it is a powerful experience. But let’s face it, true inspiration is so infrequent that if we only relied on it, very little creativity would ever happen. Still, we know that there are creatives who live off their creations, and so need to create a lot more frequently than inspiration would allow. Who work to their creations very often — maybe even every day.

How is it, then?

Ten per cent of inspiration, ninety per cent of expiration

If you’ve frequented the writing community for any length of time, you’ll have heard this quote at least once. What it says it’s that inspiration has its place in the writing process, but it isn’t what keeps the wheels turning most of the time. We shouldn’t discard the value of commitment, perseverance and knowledge of our art. These are what keeps us going on a daily bases.

I do believe that, to a certain point, we can learn how to tell a story. This doesn’t mean that all storytellers are created equal. It would mean that I could go hands-in-hands with the likes of Toni Morrison, JRR Tolkien, Arthur Schnitzler, Robert Stevenson — and I really don’t. These people truly had a special sparkle in them. But I do believe that whatever gift we have, we can always improve as storytellers if we put in the practice and the commitment. People like the ones I’ve mentioned possessed talent (which is even rarer than inspiration), but they also possessed the knowledge of their art. That knowledge allowed their talent to shine. Without knowledge, their talent might have never manifested itself.

It’s the same thing with inspiration. If we don’t know how to use that inspiration most effectively, we might as well waste it. If we do possess that knowledge, we can fuel our writing process with our craftsmanship and our perseverance, even once inspiration has waned out.

Inspiration strikes and busts in a moment, but writing a story may require years.

Inspiration strikes and busts in a moment, but it will take weeks, months, even years to transform that inspired idea in something we may share. We can’t possibly think that we need to be inspired for that long, and still we know that this kind of creative process happens every day.

Storytelling as a skill

As storytellers, we might need inspiration only when the story comes to us. Sometimes not even, since a story may emerge from refraction, even from games.

We might need inspiration as the sparkle that ignites the story, but then we’ll be left to our own devices to keep the flame going, all the way to the end of the process, when our story will be ready to meet the readers.

What keeps that flame going is craftsmanship. It’s our knowledge of the writing process, of the narrative structure and techniques, of grammar and syntaxes. These are the tools that will allow us to share our idea, our intuition, our inspiration. And I’d like to point out that none of these is innate. These are all skills that we lean.

What keeps that flame going is craftsmanship. It’s our knowledge of the writing process

Now, I don’t think these skills are enough to write a good story. Stories need heart to allow a human connection. And as creators of those stories, it’s our heart that needs to be there in the first place. But there is a mechanic to all skills, and that’s what we may learn and what we will use most of the time in our creative process. There is a logic as well as intuition to a story, and logic is something we may work with, even without inspiration or intuition.

When I take part in NaNoWriMo, I perfectly know that I won’t be inspired every day. But that’s not a problem. By 1st November, I’ll have chosen the idea I want to work with, an idea that inspiration might have given me months before. I’ll have worked out the structure of the story. I’ll have worked with the logic of storytelling and the narrative structure. I’ll have pinned down my characters based on my experience of people.

I will still need a little inspiration, sometimes, but for the most part, I’ll let my skills fuel my writing.

Inspiration is a precious sparkle and may ignite a wonderful process. Don’t let it die, hoping that it will do the entire job.

How to write a character that impacts the story? By giving them not just history and character personality traits but also a strong narrative role. Create characters that leave a mark. Give them a strong desire, make them fight for it. That’s how to create memorable characters. Download The Protagonist Builder, a free worksheet and start creating your character right away.

Sarah Zama wrote her first story when she was nine. Fourteen years ago, when she started her job in a bookshop, she discovered books that address the structure of a story and she became addicted to them. Today, she’s a dieselpunk author who writes fantasy stories historically set in the 1920s. Her life-long interest in Tolkien has turned quite nerdy recently.She writes about all her passions on her blog https://theoldshelter.com/