“I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately, I am inspired at nine o’clock every morning.”

– William Faulkner, Novelist (b.1897 – d.1962)

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

If we, as writers, keep waiting for inspiration to strike,  we may well find ourselves in the same predicament as the two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot“ − drowning in immobility.  Neither Faulkner nor Beckett  sat idly, waiting for light bulb moments to magically appear.  No, they wrote, wrote, and wrote some more.  Sure, they may have had an inkling of what to write about, but it was while going about the daily business of writing that the inspiration began to flow − from mind to pen.  It was their perseverance (and, of course, their brilliant writing) which awarded each of them a Nobel Prize in Literature (Faulkner, in 1949 and Beckett, in 1969).

It is true that inspiration may come to us when we least expect it. In a dream. On a train. Or, while enjoying a dinner with family and friends.  Believe it or not, we all have at least twenty-five stories in us. At least!  Think about all the people who have come into our lives  − either to stay or just passing through.  And the events we’ve experienced, the observations we’ve made, as well as all the anecdotes we could tell (humorous, ironic, sad, and sometimes even tragic). 

All the roads we’ve travelled lead to Inspiration. We really don’t have to look much further.  We just need to sit down and write.

So, let’s get on with it.

h.f.t.g.

Image via jcshakespeare.wordpress.com.