Inspiration Can Be A Real…

Let’s be clear, you can’t control inspiration. Sometimes an idea just falls into your head and yells at you to follow it. Everything else be darned. I’m midway through my second novel, I’m querying my first, I’ve started character sketches for a picture book, been ruminating on two adult fictions and now I’ve been thunderstruck with an idea for a YA. The YA is really demanding my attention and it’s hard to resist. I’m fearful that once I start down this rabbit hole, I’ll end up with a bunch of half-done projects and nothing to work with.

I’ve never been short on ideas. As a matter of fact, I have dozens of them written down. I don’t have the excuse of “I can’t think of what to do next”. I got 50 nexts. The problem is, do I hold a passion for that next thing that will carry it to its completion. Right now, I’ve got three things I really, really want to see through. It’s a Sophie’s Choice, I’ve got to bury a creative child right now. Hopefully, I’ll have the will to dig it up and play Victor Von Frankenstein and bright it to life later on.

Saw something a few days back and its stayed with me. Upsetting and disturbing, yet my mind began working on the possibilities it presents to a storyteller. How do you incorporate the ugly into something inspirational and steal its sting? After days of stewing on this object and its nefarious nature, POW, I had the basic story. Consarn it. Now I have to refocus on the task I sat down to attack. If that’s possible. Stick to my current task.

We will see. I’m going back to work on Book 2 hoping that Moses and his book don’t distract me too much. How do we creative type folks even manage to function is beyond me. Anyone got any ideas?