Damn. That was my last quarter. Dreadful absolutely dreadful, I don’t think that I will ever come back from this. Nothing. Nothing comes to mind. How am I supposed to write the next great novel if I have no ideas? I wish writing was easy. In a way it can be, sometimes one gets an idea and just goes and writes the day away. But for that to happen it must be a great idea a golden brilliant idea. Those stories do not come around often. Most if the time one spends hours staring at a blank sheet of paper. Hoping that the novel would get go and write itself. But it never does. What if I write about a… vampire! No, anything but that. Vampires are so overplayed and overused; banal if you will. That is the trouble. There are a million and one ideas floating in my head but not one of them any good. They are all common and not quite original. Therefore maybe the physical act of writing is easy once there is a story in one’s head. But for the most part coming up with the ideas takes some time.
What is like to be inspired? I have often wondered about this, and have come no closer to an answer. Some writers see the landscape of a nice sunset, or a child’s smile or the beauty of a woman and that’s it. Boom, they are inspired. Those dang artists with their passions and making it look easy. I’m not an artist. I am what one would call a craftsman which means I work. Not to say artists do not work, but they make art look easy. Like they were born to do this and such. I often wonder if I was born to write. Most of the time I settle on no. But occasionally on a good day, it will be a yes. As stated above writing is hard; for me as least. I am a craftsman. Writing was not something that came easily to me or called me to do it. I worked at it. Countless drafts and re-writes, millions of half-ideas scribbled out on paper the half brained thoughts that would never make it to paper. Hours spent with dictionaries and thesauruses to figure out the perfect use and arrangement of words. Working, practicing and developing my craft. Therefore I stand by it not an artist I’m a craftsman.
A nickel and dime writer I just do not get the inspiration to write I simply do it. There is no real reason for me to even be a writer. I am not very good and I can never think of an idea to write about. Oh, wait, what about a lion that loses his father? No, that’s no good dead dad is also overused along with dead mom. Man, Disney really gets their money’s worth out of the dead parent bit. Do you think they just hate all parents in general? Stop it Ian! Focus, what to write? What to write? How about a talking peach that… Okay yeah I have nothing for that. What about an adventure! What sort of adventures do peaches have? Never mind scrap that idea. But what if there was a rogue detective that played but his own rules? No. Or a quirky detective that does not seem like a genius. Maybe he is a danger to himself and to others, brilliant! Where will this take place…? London! Why of course! Oh, wait this is a Sherlock knock off. Poopy.
All I need is one original thought to get this novel up and running. I am a nickel and dime writer I write bit by bit. All I need in one idea to build off of and boom a novel. Those golden ideas I was talking about are like finding a bag filled with money or winning the lottery. Sure it happens just not for me. Nothing happens for me things happen to me but not for me. Like bad things seem to come knocking far more often than good. Tragedy happens to me. But it does not seem like much to ask for? Just an idea, I’ll write the novel. I what things that seem reasonable to ask for but they never happen. I work hard and come up with nothing. I give my best and It just is not enough. What about a pirate story? I don’t know anything about pirates. How about a story with a twist ending? But I tried of writing about pretzels. Huh, well it looks like the novel is not getting written tonight. The score is me zero and the world eight hundred million or something like that. It seems that way like all the time. One of these days I get this damn novel finished. Nickel and dime it to the end. Eventually it will add up to something good. Oh, I can’t wait until that day! But I do. As of right now I’ll give it my best and that’s all anyone can ask.