Inspiration comes when you least expect it. Last night I was ironing my clothes, while listening to Pavement. I was thinking how my personal life is a bit of a disappointment lately and nothing seems to be working out. Failure and disappointment, words and feelings that characterize me now. Then Malkmus introduced the next song as “this is a song about moving on”, and a live version of ‘Frontwards’ came on. I really like this song. Yes, moving on, I thought to myself. But how can I escape the constant thoughts of failure? Then I started thinking about the things I like doing, and decided I should concentrate on these creative things dear to me. My mind was racing. I thought about writing and then, just like that, I had the only solid idea for a novel in ages. It’s funny, or at least has the potential to be. I stopped ironing, grabbed my notebook and started jotting down the main idea. Characters kept popping in and I outlined them. Then I kept thinking about it and, another idea, (yes, reverse these characters, brilliant!) and it could be funnier and more interesting. I was writing down as fast as I could. I felt good, I felt strong and kept smiling. Of course, there are still characters and plot lines that need to be worked out and worked on, but it’s the first time in quite some time I feel excited about writing. And that’s pretty sweet.
