Inspiration is a funny thing. It’s this invisible force that can have an immense power over our mind and bodies. The only thing about it is that inspiration can only work if it reaches a critical level that warrants action. I like to think of it as a pot of water that’s on the stove. You can turn the flame on full blast but the water has to slowly come to a boil. But once its shooting bubbles to the surface you can have that same flame keep the water boiling until it all evaporates.
The problem that I encounter sometimes is that the water just gets warm. There’s no boil, so nothing really gets done. I’m sure that has happened to you at one point in your life. You want to do something, but you just don’t have the patience or endurance to allow that flame to bring your ideas to a boil.
The cool thing about inspiration though is that it’s contagious. If my water is boiling at full steam (pun intended) then I can pour some of my water into your pot to help you along. And hey, I still have boiling water left over.
I guess this whole metaphor, which has dragged on, was brought about by me writing my first novel. I stole inspiration from Stephen King’s book On Writing, which I talk about in my second blog post. But I had to get off my butt and write the dang book, which was no easy feat. And if you’ve never written anything you actually care about, because let’s be honest, no one, not even I care about the papers I write for school, then you don’t know what it’s like to have multiple drafts. The thing is with writing, you want it to be perfect for your reader.
One of my friends heard that I had written a novel from another friend, and he wanted to read it. I warned him that it was a rough draft and to not expect greatness. After he was finished reading it he told me that it had inspired him to write something of his own. I don’t know if he will follow it through or not, but the cool thing is is that I inspired him.
Now things get really weird. I inspired him. This inspired me to want to inspire others in the same way. So that’s what I’ll try to do now. Really. If you have something you want to do in life. Something you want to write, paint, sculpt or whatever. Just do it. No one is holding you back. Don’t care what other people think until it’s finished. Don’t let yourself convince yourself out of doing something before you try.
Instead try, and let other’s convince you of how proud they are of your choice.
