The other day arriving home from the grocery store, a trip I have come to detest for many reasons, I found a book and a catalog propped up against my back door. The catalog I recognized as one I order from and have often given out to friends. The book, on the other hand, I didn’t recognize at all. It was an author I read quite often, Dr. Wayne W Dyer. In fact his new movie, The Shift, I have been loaning out like crazy since I watched it. But, I have no recollection of this book or of lending it to anyone. There was no note that said, thanks for letting me borrow this or this is a gift, etc.

I read the back cover and inside flaps trying to help out my frazzled brain, and I know I have never read it. I usually don’t give someone a book to read I haven’t read myself. And yet, upon reading the back and flipping through it I thought I might have something to share from it to inspire. I love great quotes, and get them from a couple of places on my Google home page each day. I copy a lot of them down in a special scrapbook quite often too.

So this book is called, Inspiration. And the back reads…
The Benefits of Living an Inspired Life
All of your thoughts break their bonds.
Your mind transcends all limitations.
Your consciousness expands in every direction.
You find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world.
Dormant forces, faculties, and talents come alive.
And so on….

Sounds great right? Inspiration is something a writer can struggle to come by, feed off of and gain the greatest sense of satisfaction from when it translates into a completed story. Often, I find, I can be the one who limits it by worrying about if it will come when I need it or by questioning what I create from it. I am guilty of over-analyzing my stories wondering if the idea is too far fetched, the plot too contrived or the sex too explained to be arousing, etc.

So, I question inspiration, and well, that just can’t be good. I find how bad this is as I completely rewrite for about the fifth time a story which has gone in that time span from 35,000 words to 76,000 words to date! Is this good or bad – the jury is still out on that one! Ha Ha! But, I have gotten good reviews for stories which practically wrote themselves when I got out of my own way. Of course, inspiration can come in spurts, and be required of in different ways for different stories too.

A quote I give my kids is, “Reality can destroy the dream, why shouldn’t the dream destroy reality.” ~George Moore My dreams are contingent upon my inspiration, and therefore if I stop questioning it and thus let it flow freely, then so too shall my dreams destroy reality – the voices of doubt in me and around me. This leads me to another great quote…
“An unfulfilled destiny is an affront against the Universe” ~Anonymous Greek Philosopher

Have an Inspired Day!
Kiki