Inspiration Series, Part 1: People, Positive and Negative
April 2nd 2008 23:38
Inspiration: A Mysterious Influence
Inspiration: that powerful yet ethereal quality that’s impossible to adequately define or quantify. Every time we think we’ve grasped it, it flutters away in a totally new direction, leaving us to marvel at its breadth and wonder how we’ve managed to miss this latest nuance.
Inspiration: a concept so difficult to capture in all its splendor that touching on every facet of its subtle yet powerful influence would likely take an eternity, were it possible to achieve at all.
Yet, as elusive and mysterious as the concept is, most writers are intimately acquainted with the reality. Though we may lack the capacity to put its effect into words that adequately capture its meaning, we recognize the potency of the influence it exerts on us in our most creative moments. We realize that, of whatever mysterious substance it may be composed, inspiration is the spark that motivates us, moves us, animates us, as we seek to express our inmost thoughts in words upon a page. Were we to ask 100 writers to define the term, we’d likely get 100 different definitions—and therein lies the magic of inspiration.
A Recently Explored Theme Resurrected in April
During the month of March, Confident Writing coach Joanna Young explored the topic of inspiration. And while I’ve kept up with her wonderful posts as best I could, I haven’t been as involved lately in the Confident Writing conversation as I’d like to be. Due to a hectic writing schedule, I never managed to contribute to the recent “4 x 4” writing project*, which explored the sources of writing inspiration from the point of view of each blogger who entered. Since I’ve been planning for some time now to explore this theme, I think the month of April would be a great time to tackle the topic here at Writer’s Notes.
Inspiration: Where Does It Come From?
I won’t attempt to define inspiration here—though doing so is a wonderful creative exercise that every writer should engage in periodically just to keep the imagination sharp. I’ll discuss, instead, where inspiration comes from—which is right in line with the focus of Joanna’s “4 x 4” writing project (except that I won’t be following the “4 x 4” format).
Today’s post will explore people and some of the ways they can inspire us. In future posts I’ll discuss several other sources of inspiration (in no discernable order of importance) which I’ve found, in my own experience, contribute to a writer’s creativity.
Part 1: People, Positive and Negative
The potential of other people to influence our lives (in both positive and negative ways) is huge. No matter how much importance we assign to it, we could never overestimate the impact that one individual—through example, words, or actions toward us—can have on us as people or on our inner, creative lives. A single person can make an enormous difference in our entire outlook on life. And whether this person affects us in subtle or earth-shaking ways, his or her influence will be reflected in our writing.
Inspiration: A Positive Influence—Even in a Negative Situation
Inspiration is normally thought of as a positive, enlightening influence; and well it should be, because it is—even when it springs from negative or painful experiences, emotions, or interactions. This is because inspiration has the mystical ability to make something ugly, bad, unpleasant, wrong, or deceitful yield something beautiful, good, pleasing, right, and true. It's a bit of a miracle, really. While it may not actually alter the negative situation or person in any way, it changes us and the way we view the unhappy circumstances or unpleasant people that inhabit our lives. It helps us negate their power and weaken their influence, empowering us to move forward, to grow, and to create.
Inspiration is the mysterious power that revolutionizes our outlook, changing our focus from the negative interactions or examples themselves to the positive life lessons and inner transformations we’ve experienced as a result of them. These are rich reservoirs from which to draw meaningful material—and potent catalysts to creative growth.
Creating the Positive from the Negative
We’ve all met or heard of people whose nurturing interactions or uplifting stories have inspired us directly—without the unpleasant need for painfully processing the negative into the positive. And that’s the kind of inspiration on which we thrive. How we love those people! Thankfully, wonderful role models abound, and many of us are fortunate enough to have some of these fantastic people in our own personal spheres. Yet, even in the absence of such positive people, when we face the not-so-happy kind of inspiration with courage, purpose, wisdom, strength, and vision; we develop a balance that infuses us with the spirit of the overcomer. Such inspiration is hard-won but immensely valuable to the writer.
So, if you’ve experienced painful interactions with others—and who hasn’t?—don’t ignore this potentially fruitful path to inspiration, because it offers a rare opportunity to turn a negative into a positive and use it to fuel your creativity. There’s no question that such experiences take time to process…to work through…to begin to see objectively. But the results are always well worth the effort.
People: Choose to Let Them Inspire You!
It may seem as if I’ve dwelt a bit too much on the negative in this post—a rather unconventional practice in discussing inspiration, I think. Yet, the positive people we meet inspire us naturally, with very little effort on our part. It’s the difficult people and the unpleasant situations they create that endanger the health of our Muse—unless we learn to handle them in positive, constructive, and creative ways.
People can be an incredible source of inspiration for us as writers—whether or not they intend to be! The deciding factor is what we choose to do with the ideas and emotions they plant within us. So, choose to be inspired! It will make an incredible difference in your work!
May the people you’ve known and those you’ve known about become a living lesson for you. May they spark the inspiration that enables you to produce works of beauty, nobility, and grace—regardless of who they are or what they’ve done.
To your Muse!
Jeanne
* I'd previously stated in this post that Joanna Young tagged me for this project. She actually didn't. I somehow managed to mix this project up with a meme for which she did recently tag me. Therefore I've corrected that statement.
Did you enjoy this post? Have any ideas about inspiration to share? How have people sparked your creativity as a writer? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Comment by tlcorbin
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Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
You wouldn't want to pay for something (someone?) you already possess, would you? That wouldn't be good business.
"Rent-a-Muse"--what a fascinating concept!
Glad you enjoyed my post!
Jeanne
Comment by Joanna Young
Maybe that's part of the magic!
Joanna
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Inspiration is definitely a topic one could go on and on studying, and it would still be just as much of a mystery as it was before. It's quite amazing, really. Yet, we do so enjoy studying it, don't we?
And I think you're right: That is part of the magic!
Thanks for dropping in!
Jeanne