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The Labor of Inspiration

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When I first started writing, I did so only when the desire emerged. It was largely reactive in nature, a way of responding to whatever pulled my attention at the time. So if I read a book that revealed an interesting idea, I’d write to contribute my own perspective. Or if a musing struck me while walking, I’d rush back home to start unraveling that thought on the page. There’s a common belief that inspiration is fleeting, and that its arrival is largely unannounced. While you can set up elaborate rituals to encourage its arrival, you can’t command it to serve you. It’s akin to the rain dance: you can trick yourself into believing that water will fall once you shuffle your feet, but the rain doesn’t give a damn about your sense of rhythm. It will come when it comes. With this view, inspiration is whimsical, following no governable pattern or physical law. It’s the closest thing to magic, as it evades scientific explanation of any sort. As a result, inspiration is commonly referred to a

The Labor of Inspiration Archive ↓ Best Posts All Posts Recent Posts Newsletter Book Courses ↓ Thinking In Stories The Examined Writer Reflections The Labor of Inspiration By Lawrence Yeo When I first started writing, I did so only when the desire emerged. It was largely reactive in nature, a way of responding to whatever pulled my attention at the time. So if I read a book that revealed an interesting idea, I’d write to contribute my own perspective. Or if a musing struck me while walking, I’d rush back home to start unraveling that thought on the page. There’s a common belief that inspiratio

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