When Inspiration Strikes

I am going to begin this post by telling you this: never ignore an idea. And I don't care when or how or where this idea came to you: don't ignore it.

And I don't mean that idea that tells you to go skinny dipping or suddenly yell out FIRE in a crowded room. No matter what anybody says, those aren't good ideas. Just no.

I'm coming at you from a personal experience. From Monday morning. That's right, this is recent. Picture me being a good, studious little student, sitting in my 9:00 am class, and then BAM. A combination of boredom and thoughts about the current book I'm reading (Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas) led me to an old idea I've had simmering in my brain for quite awhile now, tentatively titled Piper.

What is this idea? Honestly, I'm not going to tell you. But that's only because I don't want you to be all, "oh my god, that sounds fantastic, write it!" Because I don't have time to write it. No matter how much I want to.

Let me just say it's awesome.

The point is: I was in the middle of class, and suddenly I couldn't think about the poems of Troubadours, anymore. Suddenly I was thinking about a girl who was imprisoned and beaten, who was taken to the leader of the guys who killed literally everybody she cares about, then proceeds to kill said leader and earn the respect of the soldier who brought her there in the first place.

So what did I do? I wrote it down.

Inspiration can strike anywhere. Just because it's the "wrong time" and/or you have other things to do, doesn't mean that idea should be scrapped on impulse. Because no matter how hard you try, it won't leave you alone.

Take it. Indulge in it. Let it simmer. When you've got time, write a bit. Even if it's only 100 words, or a page, getting it out on paper or the computer screen will effectively get it out of your head.

And, hey, look at that. I kind of told you that idea that I said I wasn't going to tell you. My bad?

Something else, and I'm probably going to stress this a lot: music. Music definitely played a role in this idea that I got today. The song, Guilty, by LNYX includes the lyrics:

I've been busy burning all my bridges.

BOOM. Idea. Because what else is there to lose when everything's already gone?

Stay Crazy,

Rae

Thoughts or Questions? Let me know what you think!