Sometimes Inspiration To Write Is A Gift

Jack London's quote brought a smile to my face but I can only partially agree with him. We often do have to use a club to find inspiration.We need to search high and low to find the urge and a topic on which to write. Other times, it falls into your lap and says Here I am. Now do something with me.

Several days ago, an idea for a poem came to me out of the blue. The situation that brought this inspiration actually occurred last September. Months have gone by--no, almost a full year. Why didn't the urge to write a poem about where I was and for what reason come sooner? Why not that very day?

I have no definitive answer. Obviously, the topic has resided silently in my subconscious. What triggered it now? I can't remember a particular happening or something I saw that was the trigger. Instead, I'm going to appreciate the fact that it did happen and that a first draft has been written.

When I went to bed last night, I started thinking about ways to add to or revise the draft. Then, it came to me that it might work quite well as a prose poem. I should have gotten out of bed and gone into the office to write another draft. I didn't for fear of waking my husband, but the first thought I had on wakening this morning was the poem. Verses or a prose poem? Which one should it be?

I've decided to write two separate poems. The prose poem allows me to put more detail into it than the one in verse form. When I read the first draft last night, I felt like it needed more. Click! Prose poem. I'll write the first draft of that version later today.

I didn't have to invent inspiration for this writing project. Nor did I need to go after it with a club. It was a gift.

You can open a gift like this, too. When a sliver of an idea for a story or essay or poem slips through your mind, don't let it slide on by. Grab it, hold on, and do something with it as soon as possible. Wait too long and it will be washed away, never to be seen again.

Be aware, however, that you can't sit around your house all day and wait for a gift like this to be delivered. Sometimes, you really do have go after inspiration with a club. Jack London knew what he was talking about!