Today’s Guest Blogger post is about inspiration, by Suzanne Murray. Excerpted from Suzanne’s September 5, 2020 Creativity Goes Wild Blog Post. “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” — Jack London Recently a new writing coaching client emailed me to say, “I haven’t been writing. I just don’t feel inspired.” I immediately shot a message back, “You can’t wait for inspiration. If you get nothing else out of our coaching together, this awareness will make a huge difference in your creative life.” No writer or other artist waits for inspiration before showing up. Painter Chuck Close said, “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.” Flannery O’Connor, the noted Southern writer, described her habit of going to her office every day from 8 am to noon, “she wasn’t sure if anything was going to happen but she wanted to be there if it did.” Most writers just start writing and find inspiration along the way. John Steinbeck would always end one day’s writing in the middle of the page, so he could pick up the thread the next day. He insisted that “In writing, habit seems to be a much stronger force than either willpower or inspiration.” Research in the neuroscience of the brain shows that creativity is activated when we are in the brain wave states of alpha and theta which are associated with meditation, intuition and information beyond our conscious awareness. This is why a writer often needs to write a page of what feels uninspired in order slow the mind down and hit the zone. This is true of all acts of creativity. We have to show up and begin to play with the process to access the place of inspiration. The more we commit to our creativity through our intentions and actions the more our creativity flows and the more juiced, excited and inspired we feel. Now more than ever we need to play with our creativity in whatever way that calls to us and see where it leads. Even small creative acts can help lift our spirits and energy as we face the many challenges we see in our world. Exercising our creative muscles can open us to new possibilities and inspiration. Note from Marlene: Many writers use a method of freewriting to warm up before embarking on their writing project. You can use a prompt to inspire freewrites. Writing Prompts on The Write Spot Blog. |
| Suzanne Murray is a gifted creativity and writing coach, soul-based life coach, writer, poet, EFT practitioner, and intuitive healer committed to empowering others to find the freedom to ignite their creative fire, unleash their imagination, and engage their creative expression in every area of their lives. THE HEART OF WRITING COACHING Do you want to ignite your creativity and show up to your writing on a regular basis or go deeper into the process and craft? Suzanne offers online coaching to support you and coach you through any resistance or problems along the way. She holds the space of unconditional acceptance and support to nurturing your unique voice and work on the stories that are really important to you. The Heart of Writing eBook Jumpstart the Process, Find Your Voice, Calm the Inner Critic and Tap the Creative Flow * Follow Suzanne on Twitter at @wildcreativity where she tweets inspirational quotes for creativity and life. |
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