Does Inspired Writing, Equal Inspired Publishing?

Hold on to that thought for a moment, and think about that statement.  When you see a movie and you love it, does that mean that you want to go out and become an actor or a director and work in the movie industry? No, it does not; it simply means you enjoyed their work. Unless you happen to have an aim to be in the film industry, and then this is a starting point.

If you happen to have hopes and dreams of becoming a writer, the same idea applies.  You can see what other writers do and try to mimic them, but all too often, this doesn’t work.  It is not who inspires you, but instead it’s the relationship that exists between you and that person that is important.

A great example is several of my new-found writing friends.  They have some wonderful ideas, and they have really shown me that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done before, it’s what you can do now.  What if inspiring another person didn’t help?

Does that mean that you should stop trying to better yourself or prove to yourself that you can dance, or act or write?  No.  It means that you need to see beyond what makes you want to write, and go from there.  

What if you don’t have the slightest clue what inspires you to write and you feel like there is too much?

The point of writing is to publish something.  It’s that simple.  The point of being a writer is produce a new book and have people read it, and the only way to do that is to sit down and write it, edit it and publish it.  Does that sound inspiring?

Probably not, but that is the reality of anything.  You can be inspired to write, but it won’t last long — not unless you learn the step beyond this whole “inspired” thing.  The work is always there.  You might even hate some aspects of writing, but they are part of what makes a writer.

What if that doesn’t inspire you?

Some wise man (probably many) once said success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration- and to also learn from your mistakes.  This is very true when it comes to writing.  You can set as many goals as you like, and even put up little messages that might inspire you, but it’s you, the writer, who needs to do the actions, with a dash of failure to help you learn.  You have to have more than an idea to publish something.  Inspiration comes in many forms; a push to get your writing moving, a key moment that makes you think and act in the effort towards publishing a book.

Inspired writing does not equal inspired publishing- not even in the field of self-publishing.  What it inspired writing means is that you have the ability to work with others for a mutual benefit, which is publishing your works to a valued group of readers.  They don’t have to be co-writers, they simply are writers who have pulled you out of a rut or a block, and brought you back to your writing.  It’s the act of taking the time to live your writing, to act on what you are doing, and to fighting for every ounce of time you have to become that person you are meant to be.  It’s a journey, it’s personal, and you had best be sure to thank a lot of people in the end.

That’s what it means to be inspired- in both writing and in life.  You go out and prove you can.  You publish a book, you learn more about what your friends and readers think of your and learn to be fearless. You have fun, you grow and you learn about how to be a better writer, and earn a better income.

Inspiration is only the beginning of writing.  There is more to it.  The key to any sort of living is to have an element of laughter, because you will make mistakes, and you will grow and learn, and this will change you for the better.