Inspiration DOES Come From Pinterest

The running joke about Pinterest is that you will never do any of the things that you post.  And if you do, it will be comically horrible.  However, the inspiration I'm talking about is the inspiration to write.  It's quite possible that what I write might still be comically horrible.

I read a quote by Stephen King on Pinterest that said something along the lines of "just write one page per day, 300 words and in a year you'll have written a book."  I never thought about it like that and when it's put that way...it sounds so simple.  Of course it isn't.  But I'm starting to believe that a "natural" talent isn't necessarily a precursor to being a good writer.  It makes it easier and more fun, I'm sure, but it's not a death sentence to your writing if you are not a naturally born writer.  I know I'm not a natural born writer.  I have a horrible time expressing myself.  I love words.  There is very little more important to me than words but I can never put down on paper exactly what is going through my head.  I get frustrated so easily when I can't get a word out that is on the tip of my tongue.  I know the feeling, I know what I want to portray, but I just can't get it out and I become physically anxious and upset...so I stop writing.  This happens every time.  And this is why I like this whole "write one page per day" idea.  It's only one page.  That's all you have to get out in one day.  My frustration is worsened when I start getting too far ahead of myself.  When I start thinking about what comes next, what's the next point I want to make, what's the next word I want to put on the paper.  When you know that you are only responsible for one page that day, you live on that one page, and you don't take it for granted.  And usually, the next day, my inspiration is back.  I have a brand new idea hopping around or a new take on an old idea.  I see things that I might not have seen the day before.

Right now, I have no idea what I'm writing about.  I started writing, and an idea formed.  I'm really not sure where I'll end up with this, but I'm hoping it will be somewhere good.  I'm just happy to be writing again.  I have the utmost respect for fiction writers.  It is so awe inspiring to think that this book that I can't put down came out of one head, one idea.  The twists, the turns, the subtle aspects of it.  I fear that I will never be at that level because I don't even know where my writing will take me the next day, let alone at the end of 365 days.  I might end up with absolutely nothing of any interest, or just some incoherent pieces that don't fit together one bit, but, if I'm lucky, and if I use as much of my creativity as I have available, it will actually be something worth reading.

All that matters is that right now, I can put a word down on paper and not feel the need to rip my head open because it feels wrong.  Right now, I'm excited to be writing again.

To anyone who is struggling with writing (or any creative endeavor really), I found this really helpful blog post and I know I will be taking some advice from it.  Mainly: read more, watch less.