Inspiration, A Writer’s Trickster God
September 26, 2019
Inspiration, a writer’s trickster god—that’s the only way I’ve ever experienced it. Sometimes the words flow effortlessly, filling pages like magic. Or, a story and its characters suddenly spring to life. So it seems. Often an idea feels as if it flies in from outside of me, as if from thin air.
Checking my high-school Latin, I confirmed that “inspire” originally meant “breathing or blowing into.” Now look at the photo of Michelangelo’s drawing. Divine Inspiration occurs as an angel blows a trumpet into the man’s head.
Yet, in my experience, what feels like “divine inspiration” comes not from an angel but from an imp. Or, as I call it, a trickster god. For, if I’m lucky, within the pages I wrote in an ecstatic rush the trickster god dropped, at most, an important crumb. (Important to me and my novel, anyway.) Such as, something I hadn’t considered yet, but should.
Trickster?
Once I woke up with a full-fledged character in my head–as close I’ve gotten to real inspiration. A huge boost! And yet, writing his story took many years. Malcolm is wild, insecure, anxious, easily manipulated, hyper-sensitive, and charismatic. My husband finds this novel hilarious, as intended. Unintended, however, is a resemblance between Malcolm and me. Once Manny pointed out the traits and tendencies we share (charisma aside), I conceded. But even if the character is purely an extension of myself, this character’s story of being goaded into starting a cult religion just isn’t going to happen to me.
And even in this case, that ecstatic rush that felt so great? Turned out to be mostly delusion.
For several years now, I can easily write twenty pages a day. I rarely experience anything like inspiration but tap straight into my imagination. However, the words that push the plot end up being a page at best, even in a first draft.
Writing Prompts to Rev Inspiration
So, writing prompts to rev inspiration, like NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) are not for me. Although, you never know. If my torrent ever dries to less than a drip, that external motivation might rescue me.
When my children started school, I was free to let my mind roam for several uninterrupted hours. At first, I paced the carpet, waiting for inspiration–an idea, a sentence, a character’s name. Listening to my inner thoughts, following their trains, and circling the room might be a weird approach. Certainly, it appeared odd. Because a friend asked if I worried that people would suspect me of drinking. No, anyone who knows me knows a sip of alcohol triggers a five-day migraine. Another friend asked if I ever felt tempted to clean the stove. No again. Those are two traps from which I’m definitely safe. But I and many writers face countless, unnamed traps.
Probably, every fiction writer approaches writing in her or his own way. And, a lucky few do receive amazing inspiration. To where they really do write a stellar novel within a month! But even they should beware of trickster inspiration. Because that brilliant burst of success may get harder and harder to recreate. Like trying to get struck by lightning twice while standing in the same place.
Finally, to me, that angel’s trumpet looks more like a blow dart. Yet the plaque at the Met clearly stated it’s a trumpet. Nevertheless, it reminds me of Bob Marley singing Trench Town Rock: “…brutalize me with music.”