Found Voices™ Episode 6: Inspiration Is A Lump

Inspiration. We wait for it. We want it. We need it. Often we won't write (or create) because we aren't feeling inspired. What if inspiration wasn't what you needed, but something else? What if inspiration is a lump? In this short episode, I share a little bit about inspiration and explain what I mean when I say, "Inspiration is a lump." Enjoy and feel free to message me with your thoughts and how this episode supported your creative process.

Transcript

Oh boy,

Do I dig this music.

Welcome to Found Voices.

I'm Carolyn Ziehl.

Episode 6.

Inspiration is a lump.

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking,

What does that even mean?

Inspiration is a lump.

I'm going to share a little bit about what that means.

About the idea of inspiration,

Which I believe is really a myth of inspiration.

Or at least something that happens very rarely.

Very rarely,

As writers,

Are we visited by inspiration.

It happens,

But it's something that we have to cultivate within ourselves.

And when I say it happens,

There is sometimes magic.

But if you wait for the magic to visit you,

For inspiration to visit you,

You may never write.

The last time inspiration truly magically visited me,

I would say it was in 2018.

I was at my desk and I was just sitting there,

Of course,

Not knowing what to write because as writers that never happens.

It was a beautiful summer afternoon.

One of those still summer afternoons.

Not a lot of wind.

Not a lot of movement.

It was warm and still and green and quiet.

The kind of afternoon you want to curl up under a tree with a book and take a nap.

Anyway,

So here I am at my desk.

And all of a sudden the curtains,

These shears that I have in my office,

Filled up with the strangest summer wind.

Normally when it's windy out,

It's as if the wind is breathing into my curtains.

They inhale and fill up and they exhale and release.

But this time it was different.

It was as if they were holding their breath filled with this warm summer wind that it seemed came out of nowhere.

So much so that I turned around and looked outside to see if the leaves were rustling and if the wind had picked up.

And it was pretty still outside.

And that's when these shivery chills went up and down my spine.

An idea came to me and I knew in that moment I had been visited by inspiration.

A little magic had blown into my office that day.

And I came up with an idea to create a course called Big Magic Adventures in Writing.

And since what I teach I call Adventures in Writing.

And it's changed because I teach something specific called Method Writing,

Jack Grape's Method Writing,

Which offers concepts and techniques and tools so that you don't have to wait around for inspiration.

Because although that day I was visited,

I believe,

By some magical summer wind,

I know that that is rare.

And it may never happen for you.

And what you have to understand is that this lump of inspiration that maybe sits on the edge of your desk and you stare at it and you wait for it to turn into some gorgeous something or other,

It's a lump that you have to manipulate.

It's a lump that you have to stimulate.

It's a lump that you have to find.

And guess where it really lives?

That lump of inspiration lives inside of you.

If you want to be inspired,

You have to write no matter what.

Because you write whether you have something to write about or not.

You write whether you want to write or not.

It's like an athlete who has a million dollar contract.

He or she or they can't say,

Hey,

I don't feel like playing today.

Yeah,

I know you're paying me a million dollars to play,

But I just don't feel like it.

So I'm not going to play.

You have a million dollar contract with yourself as a writer.

I don't care if you don't feel like writing.

And you shouldn't care if you don't feel like writing.

You have to write anyway.

So you say,

Well,

I don't know what to write about.

Doesn't matter.

You sit down and you write about how you don't know what to write about.

You can write about how inspiration is a lump and you wish it weren't.

You can write about the summer wind or the weather.

Or you can listen to my podcast,

Start with a Bug on a Leaf,

Episode 5,

And write about a bug on a leaf.

You have to write no matter what.

If you want to be a writer,

You have to write.

And if you want to wait for inspiration,

You won't be a writer because you'll be a waiter.

You'll be waiting for inspiration.

You are your muse.

You are your inspiration.

You have to practice your craft.

And you have to remember all you have to do,

As Hemingway said,

And I know I think I quote this in every podcast,

But when he came to that point where he didn't know what to write,

He would say to himself,

He would say,

You've done this before.

You can do it again.

Write one true sentence,

Then another,

And then another.

Write a sentence,

A good,

Solid,

Sturdy sentence,

And then write another.

You write from where you are in that moment.

You let go of your story.

You let go of what you're supposed to write about or what you think you need to write about or what to write about,

And you just write.

But I don't have anything to say.

I don't know what to write.

We've all said that to ourselves as writers at least once,

And probably a lot more.

And when it happens,

You connect to the moment you are in.

You write and connect to the moment you are in.

I talk a lot about creative mindfulness.

So you think about mindfulness,

Breathing into the moment,

Breathing into this moment,

What you see,

What you feel,

What you smell,

What you taste,

What you're thinking about even.

So if you think about creative mindfulness,

Living a creative life,

Living a writer's life,

You pick up your pen or you turn to your keyboard and you write focusing on the moment you are in.

What do you hear?

What do you see?

What do you smell?

What are you thinking?

What are you feeling?

What do you feel on your skin?

Is it warm?

Is it cold?

Is it hot?

Is it raining?

Just write about the current moment you are in.

And the moment you stop caring about what you're going to write about and connect with the moment that you are in,

Then you don't have to worry about waiting for inspiration.

This is the mechanics of art.

You sit down and you just write.

You practice.

Even if you're not in the mood to write or to practice.

Even if you're not in the mood,

You write anyway.

Even if you're not inspired,

You write anyway.

I share with my students exercises,

Techniques,

Tools,

Concepts,

So that they never have to hit writer's block because you can always grab and exercise.

And sometimes you have to step away.

You're not inspired?

Take a walk.

Bring your journal.

Sit down.

Look around and write.

Go to a cafe.

Grab your coffee and your Danish.

Look around and write.

Listen to what other people say and write.

Stop worrying about your story and write.

The more you focus on your story,

On your outline,

On where to start,

The easier it is to hit writer's block.

So just write.

Don't worry about what you're going to write about.

Just write.

Pick up your pen and write.

Don't wait for the inspiration because remember,

It's inside of you already.

And the more you practice,

The more you look at it like,

Oh,

I have a million dollar contract with myself to write,

The more you won't need inspiration.

So don't focus on your story or your outline or what you're going to write about.

Just focus on putting the pen to the page and writing one true sentence after another after another.

Have a little faith and know eventually you will have written your novel,

Your book of poetry,

Your memoir,

Your whatever it is,

You will have written it because you didn't wait for inspiration.

Instead,

You sat down and you practiced and you remembered you have a million dollar contract with yourself to be a writer.

So you wrote.

Thanks so much for listening.

I hope this has helped.

Drop me a note.

Let me know.

And in the meantime,

Write on.

Bye.

Bye bye.

Reviews

Thank you ☺️

I spooooooo loved this. Though I often struggle with even just getting started. But writing prompts are the bomb!!! Thanks for this one!!!

Amazing! Truly helpful. Thanks 🙏💗
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” ~Pablo Picasso

Right to the heart ❤️ of matters, thank you Carolyn!

I am gonna save this for days when I need inspiration (and then realize I don’t need it to write). 😊

Thank you, going to start showing up no matter how I feel and just start by finding one true thing.