"Like a lot of what happens in novels, inspiration is a sort of spontaneous combustion–the oily rags of the head and heart."
–Stanley Elkin
"I’ve always disliked words like inspiration. Writing is probably like a scientist thinking about some scientific problem, or an engineer about an engineering problem."
–Doris Lessing
"The devil himself always seems to get into my inkstand, and I can only exorcise him by pensful at a time."
–Nathaniel Hawthorne
I was reading quotations about inspiration this morning, and the views, of course, range widely. I agree with or connect with each of these quotations, but usually only at certain moments in the writing process.
Out of the three, I feel most closely connected to that first quotation. Although I feel like instead of a dramatic, explosive burst of flame, my writing flame is more constant. It’s a little campfire on a cold night, something I can count on to warm me. The ideas and the motivation to write are spontaneously there. I don’t feel like the ideas I have are things I must write about, but rubbing my hands over the small fire of new words warms me and inspires me to keep writing.
What do you think about inspiration? Which of the quotations more closely matches your own thoughts?