Turn Things on Their Head

Posted by Lynne Griffin

A few days ago, a very creative friend of mine wondered out loud if she were innately imaginative enough to write a rich and compelling novel. I was first struck by how preposterous this musing was, since she's extremely inventive. Later, this thought intrigued me: should any writer rest on his or her God-given gifts of imagination and inspiration, or is every writer equally responsible for the search to find the thing that sets the break and tumble wave of creativity in motion?

Maybe there's a picture or poem that introduces you to an interesting character. The picture to the right is one of my parents in the early days of their courtship. I started a story inspired by their love affair, and it became something entirely different. I'm indebted to them, and to this photograph for planting the seed.

Or perhaps you've read or heard a news story so unbelievable you have to understand why things unfolded the way they did, or rewrite the ending.

As I write this, I have a copy of Anne Halpin's breathtaking book, Seascape Gardening on my desk. It's been sitting there since I received it as a birthday gift. The setting of my work-in-progress is laid out all over its pages, as if Ms. Halpin collected the Roger Foley images and wrote the commentary, specifically for me.

In writing, there are many well known taglines. Show, don’t tell. Write what you know. Allow yourself the shitty first draft. But like the idea of waiting on the Muse, to each of these there's a flip side.

Tell and show.
There are times when telling is the right thing to do. At the beginning of chapters, to let the reader know time has past, or in making the perfect transition, keeping the pace of the novel swift and the plot moving forward. I don't worry, in early drafts, if there's a little too much tell. I know adding show will be the work of revision. And a side note here--Jennifer Haigh wrote her first novel in sixty pages. In revision, she fleshed the entire story out. I imagine there was a lot of telling in the early draft.

Write what you don't know.
For me, inspiration is often found in learning something new. Research can be energizing. Choosing a character's occupation or fascination opens doors to all kinds of things that can provide inspiration and motivation. Why not try to write what you don't know?

Allow yourself a glorious first draft.
Perhaps there are days, weeks, or even novels that require one to write slowly, critiquing every word set down on the page. What a difference it might make to scrutinize each word choice, making every one count.

To a degree--though I may adjust the percentages a bit--I share Thomas Edison's thinking on achieving your goals. He said, success is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration. Friend of our blog Larramie wrote a beautiful sentiment, last year about this time. I love it so much I'll share it here. She wrote, Summer is a season of indulgences. Mine just happens to be writing.

So my advice to writers, at the beginning of this Memorial Day weekend, is to go out and turn traditional ideas about writing on their head. You may just find the inspiration you've been looking for.