Inspiration is a fickle thing. Whenever it chooses to visit, you need to drop whatever the hell it is you’re doing (unless it’s the thing that the inspiration can be used for, of course) and write down your brilliant ideas. Lately I’ve been having a huge problem with inspiration and that is that I have too much of the stuff…
Why is that a problem?
It’s a luxury problem, I know. A lot of writers I know talk about stuff like writer’s block or a lack of inspiration or not having the energy to even write. I strongly believe that writer’s block is nonsense, but still hope I’ll never get struck by it. Maybe it’s something akin to a burnout. You always say you’ll never get one, until you too hit the proverbial brick wall and end up a sad heap of yourself.
What’s the problem then?
So, no, it’s not a problem that I have too much inspiration, but what is becoming an increasing problem is the amount of time I have, the project I still have to finish and knowing that I’ll probably won’t be able to do it all. I’ve currently got ideas for new books in the Ley Lines universe, one of which will be a joint project with a co-writer (more on that in March 😉 ) and five books about the Kevar set in the Shaedon Uprise (the first time the Shaedon appeared, during the height of the Xoron Empire) era. These books will focus on five brave Kevar who are destined to join each other in an epic adventure, all of which are based on our five cats.
I’ve also become heavily inspired by several non-fiction reads to try and write my own non-fiction books, one with general self-help stuff, one about bipolar disorder and how to deal with it as the partner of someone who has it, and several ideas for novels set in the here in now. One partly biographical and one is more of a magical realism novel about a guy who is faced with his own mortality, but is granted to fulfil a lifelong wish.
And so we continue
Time is my real problem, I think. So my primary focus is still on finishing my fantasy novel, but man is it irritating to have so many ideas going on in your head and wanting to do all of them at the same time! I’m glad I am able to focus, but it’s quite irritating when you come to a point where you’d rather just finish a project just so you can continue with the next. Maybe the grass is a little greener on that side. 😉
Do you guys ever experience anything like this? Please let me know in the comments!
Happy writing!
~Jeffrey
JeffreyDebris.Com 
Jeffrey, Inspiration! Choices or more like “my cup runneth over”? “I strongly believe that writer’s block is nonsense”…as long as it doesn’t happen to me! –Sounds like it’s still a Boogeyman! You are amazing to come off the difficult week you recently had to be a fountain of ideas as fodder for your writing skills, both fiction & non-fiction!!! I realize these ideas come to you along the way & have no relation/connection to your recent frustrations but for that word, “time”!!! I was surprised that you aspire to write five books on the Kevar, obviously an outgrowth of the personalities of you five cats. Co-authoring a book with another author sounds intriguing! And then your non-fiction ideas…..perhaps you might consider reducing some ideas to one chapter each in a collection of articles by you. Time. In that is your answer. Get out that pad & put your writing projects in priority order….if you haven’t done so already! “Do you guys ever experience anything like this?” you ask. –Nothing so intense in one field such as your writing. For me it was teaching. And as ideas popped into my head, I would develop my ideas into a lesson or new unit of study or a new format by which to teach/learn, etc. –Curriculum ideas. Where time frustrated me was not with too many inspirations but too many roads or paths to follow in life. I used to say I needed six lives to do all I wanted to in life; to earn a doctorate, to get a law degree, to teach, to be a curriculum director of social studies, to be a principal, to run for political office, to become a college professor. I learned early on to choose one road & stick to it. That was called a career. And that was my measure of success. Today people talk of moving on to a second or third career. But put marriage & children & house into the equation,,,,,& the need of a stable income keeps your rudder on the same road. Phil
LikeLike
Hey Phil! I do know where my priorities lie, the problem is that I have too much ideas. But I have the “luxury” of working on what I want when it comes to my writing. Having said that, I have invested a great deal of time in my fantasy story, so I will finish that first and then continue to other works! I agree on the need of a stable income, that is what my office job provides me with, but at the same time it also costs a considerable amount of energy and time, which cuts into my energy/time I have left to write. So, yes, sometimes it does feel like I’m trying to work two jobs at the same time! I loved reading about your method when it came to teaching! Very inspirational! ~Jeffrey
LikeLiked by 1 person