Be prepared
If inspiration hits, are you ready to receive it?
Yesterday, a photo sent to me by a dear friend sparked some creativity.
I wasn’t at my desk and didn’t have my notebook with me, so I used what I had available - my phone.
I was able to quickly write down the first sparks of a poem in my phone’s “Notes” app. I was surprised, though, that it didn’t end there. Ideas were still coming and I kept typing until I had a poem that I would say was 90% complete straight off.
There’s one line for which the metre isn’t right, and another where the intent isn’t right; it could be just a single word change, or a rewrite of the line - I’m not sure yet.
The take away, then, is to always be prepared for when that inspiration finds you. You don’t want to be running around trying to find a scrap of paper or your phone/tablet/laptop, because, in the panic, you will most likely lose the thought. (Also, changing your environment - simply walking into another room - will reset your thought processes.)
For more on this, see my previous post When Inspiration Hits.
For more on how to game your creativity, see The Creative Process.
How do you make sure you are ready for when inspiration hits? Let me know in the comments 👍