Inspiration and Perspiration

Posted at Feb 6, 2015 7:00 am

Since my first book has become a reality, I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I get inspired and how I manage to write books, work a day job, and raise a family.  

What really happens is I get up at 4:30 a.m. every day, make a pot of coffee, and get in two hours of writing before I take my son to school and head to my day job. It’s not a glamorous answer, but it’s the truth, and it’s how I’ve managed to write two more novels since HOW (NOT) TO FALL IN LOVE, and why I’m currently halfway finished with another WIP, and am outlining a couple of new projects.

Inspiration can come from anywhere. I sometimes think there’s a gigantic cosmic soup of story ideas and our subconscious dips its ladle in there, and the ideas just show up to us fully formed. Other days we’re making the soup from scratch and scrambling for the ingredients. But as Stephen King says, if you’re sitting at your computer every day, odds are good the muse will show up for you, at least sometimes.

I believe with every fiber of my being that if you want to be a writer, or a musician, or a game designer, or whatever is your passion, you can do it. But it won’t be easy. You’ll have to sacrifice: say no to social events, TV watching, and sleep. You’ll probably need to spend less time with family and friends, at least at first while you figure out your creative process and how to balance everything. But it’s worth it. Every single day when I get up early and sit down to the light of the moon in my office window, drinking coffee and spinning stories, it’s worth it. 

“Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.” – Goethe

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