"But I'm not Inspired!"

 I have lost count of how many times people have said these words to me over the years as we talked about writing or game mastering or acting. Since it seems to come up a lot it is worth exploring. What is Inspiration and is it really all it is cracked up to be. There will be people on both sides of thus discussion. People that feel that "they can only create when they are inspired" and then the rest of us. Those of us with deadlines, whether self imposed or not, and need to simply get something on the page. 

I actually think that most of us fall into the latter category because we don't have the luxury of waiting for inspiration. I'm firmly in the camp that inspiration is the cherry on the top of your work. It is dessert or a treat to enjoy when it happens. However, creativity is like any other muscle, it needs exercise. If you wait around for inspiration to strike you, that muscle will atrophy. It is far better to work those muscles on a regular basis and when you do that they are ready to be called upon at need. 

There is a reason that most writing coaches say that you should "Write everyday". This does not have to be some epic session that takes up you entire day though. It can be fifteen minutes in the morning as you sip your first cup of coffee and prep for what the day will bring. Or if your mind is not as sharp in the morning, maybe your writing or creative time is the last thing you do before bed as sort of a purge or meditation on the day's events an accomplishments. This is why journaling can be so useful. Personally, I have never been so structured or disciplined that I could maintain a journal beyond a few entries on any kind of regularity. Just look at the gaps in between my blog posts and that is evident. 

I'm not the poster child for regular creative activity. I am more the poster child for sudden, rampant almost frantic surges of creativity that often result in half formed or half baked creations. A short story that languishes for a decade without an ending is a good example. A rule set re-write for a cad game that I know needs to be done, but I just have not blocked out the time to do so. 

There is a risk to avoiding being creative, at least there is for me. If I am not creating in some way at least occasionally, I get nightmares. I am convinced it is because of a lack of a creative outlet in the waking world that my brain takes it out on me in my dream state. The last time it happened, I had been so busy with work and running all over the place with a second job that by the time I sat down at my computer I would nearly fall asleep. There just was no energy for anything more. This went on for about two months. My creative output was zero. Somewhere after that two month mark I had one of the most vivid dreams of my life. 

I was being chased through a village in feudal Japan. I was bare foot and wearing a red karate gi like Hong Kong Phooey. Right at my heels were what I called Samurai frogs, but looking back they really were more like ninjas since they did not have the elaborate armor indicative of Samurai. I ran and ran, panicked. I crashed through paper screens in various buildings and leapt from balconies. I was surprisingly athletic. Ultimately though I was surrounded and each one in turn ran me through with their swords. Once the last blade was removed, my body collapsed into a koi pond. Then I woke up with a start.

So that is the next challenge, finding the time and potentially the energy. What I am coming to realize more and more is that it the problem is the word finding that gets in our way. Finding the time is like finding a buried treasure. Hunters spend years and years and sometimes never find that lost pirate booty they seek. So I challenge you and myself to change that word from finding to making. We make time to go to the doctor, get the oil changed in the car, hit the gym or attend one of our children's horrendously out of tune band concerts. If we can do that, we can make time to create. Maybe it isn't an everyday creative session, but be a little ruthless and set aside even 30 minutes a week that is dedicated to developing your creative muscles so they do not shrink away to nothing.

So get at it. Set aside some effort to nurture your creativity as you would any other gift. Start with 30 minutes a week. See what you can accomplish. Then add another 15 minutes and tell the family and other commitments that you are busy during that time and to leave you undisturbed. Just remember that when you do that, you will need to share your creation with them afterwards to preserve a happy home. They will know at that point that your isolation was needed to practice your craft and that it was worthwhile.

Now, enough reading...Get to creating.