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Signing in late today… it’s been a long day of time spent at DMV and driving, driving and more driving. Oh, and more driving…
Green Memory Cover (photo courtesy of BA Chepaitis
But I could not let the day close out without welcoming author Barbara Chepaitis to the Garden of Delights as my guest blogger for the week. Writer, reader, English professor, and interpretive artist among so many other things, Barbara Chepaitis also is a creative cook who blogs about life and pets and recipes on her blog: A Literary Lunch. She just recently finished a virtual book tour and graciously took some time out to leave the clay soil of her own garden to spend time in ours. And oddly, both have clay, clay, shale and more clay….
Please welcome, Ms. Barbara Chepaitis.
INSPIRATION HAS NO EXPIRATION DATE
When I’m asked about the source of inspiration for my writing, I don’t want to just say inspiration is everywhere, it’s all material, and so on. That’s true, but not very helpful. Maybe the better question is how do I access it? How do I get just the thought I need, just when I need it?
That’s simple. I get it by keeping myself in a state of open awareness, ready to filter any events, flitting images and thoughts, swirls of song or bits of conversation, into the needs of my work. I think that’s true of most artists. We’re always ready for inspiration, because we know that if we’re ready, it always shows up.
Here’s an example. When Jaguar Addams, my protagonist in the ‘Fear’ series of novels, first appeared, I was on my way to visit a friend who’d just had a baby, and my thoughts roamed as they do when you’re driving. I was asking myself what I might write next. I was also asking myself if I wanted to have another child. I was wondering rather than worrying, open to guidance rather than needing answers. In my tape player the Eurythmics song “No Fear, No Hate, No Broken Hearts,” was playing the opening lines – well, in the morning when our day begins/ and it feels like cold, dark steel.
Immediately, a woman with oceanic green eyes rose up, fixed me with her intent and told me quite clearly, “What you’ll do next is write me.”
She was Jaguar Addams, and I did exactly as she asked.
So you could say the source of inspiration was the song, but it had to combine with specific personal questions, and a state of open wondering.
In short, I was listening, both internally and externally.
Our culture gives more kudos to smooth talkers than good listeners, but for writers – perhaps all artists – that skill is the underpinning of inspiration. In fact, in the graduate writing classes I teach, one of the first things I make students do is spend ten minutes silently observing their environment. I tell them to listen with their eyes, their skin, and their heart as well as their ears. They’re always amazed at how much material they come away with.
Once they catch on, they can put themselves in that state more readily, and so inspiration falls into their waiting, open, hands.
Simple, right? Yes, but in our busy, frantic, noisy and cluttered world, it takes practice. Consummate artists practice it, literally, to the end of their lives. The great Irish harpist and composer, Carolan, composed his last piece on his deathbed – Carolan’s Farewell. Alan Ginsberg’s obituary said he spent his last hours with family and friends, and wrote six poems. They’d become so good at it, even the spectre of death didn’t chase their inspiration away.
So if you’re a writer seeking inspiration, or a reader wondering where it comes from, go sit on your front stoop or in your yard. Relax, and give all your attention to what’s around you. Then listen to your own heart. Reflect on what you’ve observed, and write about it.
And keep writing. Keep listening.
Barbara Chepaitis is author of eight published novels and two nonfiction books. Her most recent novel is The Green Memory of Fear, fifth book in the ‘fear’ series featuring Jaguar Addams. She is also director of the fiction writing program at Western College of Colorado’s Master’s program in creative writing.
Her Jaguar Addams novels can be found at Wildside Books, http://www.wildsidebooks.com/CHEPAITIS-B-A_c_315.html
Website: http://www.wildreads.com
blog: aliterarylunch.blogspot.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jaguar-Addams-and-the-Fear-Series/135879429815445
delight (Photo credit: paloetic)
Related articles
- Guest Post by Barbara Chepaitis author of The Green Memory of Fear (alchemyofscrawl.wordpress.com)
- Your Inspirations Welcomes Martine Svanevik (edenmabee.wordpress.com)
I had the pleasure of making Laird’s acquaintance almost two years ago now through our local Atheist and Agnostics Group. At that time, I just knew he was an amazingly friendly guy, that his wife was amazingly patient with my son (who wanted to regale her with story upon story from books he loved), and that the conversation (which was very hard to follow in the crowd) often touched on ancient civilizations and science, both topics that enthrall me.
I asked Laird if he would write a piece on the sort of things that inspire him. As you can imagine by his diverse interests, he savors the world, but I’ll let him explain how in his own words. Without further ado, please welcome Laird Scranton to Your Inspirations:
For me, inspiration – the spark that breathes life into an idea – is something that comes much more easily when I surround myself with interesting people, situations, activities, and ideas. As with most things, the more immersed I am in an active exchange of interesting ideas, the easier it seems to be for me to come up with an interesting one of my own.
I often feel that inspiration can be triggered by little things, like some incidental thought that may cross my mind during the day, a simple phrase that I casually overhear, or the unexpected answer someone gives to a question I have asked.
Situations that offer changes in perspective also seem to help promote the processes of inspiration, and so I like brain teasers, optical illusions, mysteries, puns, and a funny new joke. I really appreciate being around children, in part because they are often not as practiced at seeing the world in the same old predefined ways.
Sometimes I even think to do things to change my own perspective. For example, try saying the same word over and over again so many times that you effectively disconnect the sound from the meaning.
At times I find inspiration in simple everyday mistakes. I have a friend who once briefly failed to recognize the word “fruit” because his mind somehow interpreted the letters as “fru –it”. My wife Risa recalls a time when her brother couldn’t remember whether the word “of” should be spelled OV or UV.
When I was in middle school, I became aware that I often found humor in things that almost no one else around me thought were funny. That still happens – just ask my wife.
I make an effort to pay close attention to my dreams, since I’ve often seen important thoughts play out in them. My dreams are sometimes set in unusual locales that can reappear again and again, and which I have learned to navigate with complete familiarity. I recently discovered one of these locales to be a neighborhood I actually lived in when I was only two years old, even though I had no conscious recollection of it.
Finally, as the word implies, I know that inspiration really should be as easy and natural as breathing in and out. The trick may be to simply pay close attention while you’re busy breathing.
Laird Scranton CPAK 2008 image
A software designer by trade, Laird Scranton enjoys exploring the intersection of history, mythology, and science. His curiosity has inspired to write four books to date on topics that range from the analysis of the oral and symbolic teachings of the Dogan people in Mali to a reassessment of the Young Venus theory proposed by Immanuel Velikovsky . He has published articles through various universities, including Colgate and Temple. He has a degree in English from Vassar College. He lives in Albany, NY.
For further information on Laird’s writing, please check these links:
- A wonderful interview (and video of related information) on Boing Boing
- Synopses of Laird’s books
- Exogeny Network: Laird Scranton (some enjoyable video clips)
We’re back on schedule here at the Garden of Delights, and that means Your Inspirations. Today I have the honor of welcoming a wonderful writer (and an incredibly helpful and outgoing person), Martine Svanevik, the self-named nascent novelist. When you have a chance, please step over to her blog and read her most recent piece on Stories That Stick or any of a number of others
Writing in Public
There are two types of writers: reclusive and social. The reclusive writers hide away in corners, go on solitary retreats and lock themselves away so they can write. The social writers join groups and collectives, and like to go to parks or cafes to get their writing done.
Often, non-social writers and readers have the preconception that social writers are hipsters or posers or both. That their Macbook airs are open on blank pages because they have nothing of depth to offer, that they sit at cafes to be seen, while real writers hide away, shaping their words in private. But really, it’s all about the kind of environment you draw inspiration from.
The cafe writer enjoys the buzz of human interaction, she thrives on catching snippets of other people’s conversations, she needs a space where the tap-tap-tapping of fingers on keyboards won’t thunder through an empty room.
She knows that her words are written so they can be shared, and that it’s only in the reading of them that they serve a purpose, so she writes them in public. Or maybe she feels like the only place she can truly be in her own space, is in a crowd. That her muse hides in that special silence you get when you’re surrounded by noise and movement. Sure the laptop sets her apart, but it doesn’t define her.
Now, I’m not saying there’s a right way to write, or that everyone would gain a circumstance bonus from sitting in a noisy crowd. I am in awe of writers who are so comfortable in their own head that they can spend most of their time alone in there. What I am saying is that the search for inspiration might take us weird places, but as long as we’re willing to chase our muse, who cares where she leads us? I’m sure it’s going to be somewhere good.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to steal a snippet of conversation from the girls next to me, and then figure out the definition of a “Toronto bro.”
Martine, lovely both inside and out
About Martine Helene Svanevik
Martine Helene Svanevik is a fiction writer from Montreal. She spends her days editing text for computer games, her evenings powerlifting and crossfitting, and her nights writing twisted stories set in a darker world than our own.
She blogs about writing and training over on nascentnovelist.wordpress.com and can often be found wasting time on twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/martinemonster).
