You Can’t Wait For Inspiration: Jack London Was Right!
I might use a hunting dog or a more modern weapon than the club (depending on what inspiration I’m chasing), but otherwise, I have to agree 100% with this Jack London quote. You can’t wait for inspiration to magically appear – that’s a good way to end up not writing.
I might’ve said this a time or two (or three), but the only surefire way to write books is to write – whether inspiration is striking or not.
Oh, and in case you’ve forgotten, Jack London and I are not the only writers who’ve felt that way:
- Louis L’Amour said to start writing regardless.
- Trudy Canavan uses the inspired moments as motivation for writing on bad days.
- Brian Clark definitely recommends writing as the way to be a better writer.
- Robert A. Heinlein agreed that you must write (and finish what you write).
And there are more whose quotes I haven’t made into images yet. So there’s a whole bundle of evidence suggesting that writing is the key.
Sudden inspiration? That only happens sometimes, and it’s liable not to happen at all if you’re not looking for it.
-Em
