DISCIPLINE VS INSPIRATION: THE WRITER'S STRUGGLE

I've watched a lot of Oprah in my day. I love the ol' gal. I've also read a lot of Eckhart Tolle and listened to a lot of Abraham Hicks. The crux of all their teachings (to paraphrase) is that one should listen to thier intuition, to the whispers, to follow their good-feeling thoughts after which time, inspired action will come and one's true purpose will be realised.

Now, bless you Opie and Eckie and Abie but methinks this train of thought - although serving me well as a general human being - has not served me well as a writer. Because despite the common sense-ness of this teaching, it's made me, how shall I say, a little, um, undisciplined. Cause like, I need to like, you know, finish my latest draft. Like, now. And look, I'm easy. I could go to the beach and just hang aroud for a wave of inspiration to hit me but let's face it, I'm probably going to be too distracted by the sand and the coconut oil and the fish and chips to give a toss about my heroine's journey. And I NEED to care about my heroine's journey. Why? Because I want to share her journey in the form of a short film. And this short film needs to therefore be made. And I therefore need to have a finished script that my producer and director and myself can give to like, actors. And so on and so forth.

So, such is the writer's battle. Do we wait for inspiration - which, when it comes is MAGNIFICENT and feels so right and flows so naturally - or do we discipline ourselves with timed writing sessions and daily word-count targets? 

Who the fudge knows. If any writer out there has achieved a balance, holla at your girl. You know where to find me: under a tree somewhere holding a carnelian crystal waiting for inspiration to slap me in the face. Face. Face. 'Margaret's face turns as red as a tomatoe. She picks up the apricot and-'

Excuse me, my gut calls.

Note: Carnelian is  a deep and fiery orange/red colour, linking to the Sacracl Chakra and creativity. It has a very warming energy, and will stoke your creative fires.