by Marlin Bressi

Created on: January 24, 2009

What does every great work of literature have in common? They all began with a blank page. I have heard it said many times that white is a writer's least favorite color. However, I see a blank page as an exciting opportunity, a chance for anything to happen. I look at a blank page and see an opportunity to make you laugh or make you cry. The words I put upon a blank page are powerful; for words can make you seethe with anger or inspire you to change the world.

The odyssey from a blank page to a finished work is very much the same process as giving birth to a child. It all begins with an idea, which is like a spark of passion between two people. The idea begins to grow, fanning the tiny ember into a glowing fire. When the words and sentences begin to leap out of you, it is just like making love. Finally, the result of all of your passion and labor is a completed novel. When a novel is complete, a writer will undoubtedly become emotionally attached to it, just as if it were a child.

This explains why writers have been known to be fiercely protective of their work. Much like a mother lion protecting her cubs, writers can be quite vicious when they sense danger. This is why very few writers can take criticism, or why plagiarism is so despicable in the eyes of an honest writer. To have one's work plagiarized is like having one of your children kidnapped.

For many writers, the writing part itself is the easy part of the odyssey. It's finding the inspiration that is the challenge. Inspiration can come from a variety of sources; but much like love, inspiration cannot be forced. I've been writing all of my life and yet I still have no idea where inspiration comes from. I have no idea how or why it happens. Sometimes it pops up at the most ridiculous times, when I'm eating dinner or driving to work or taking a shower. Sometimes it wakes me from my sleep. Sometimes it comes fast and furious, other times it doesn't seem to come at all.

Writers who thinks that they can force inspiration are like fools who believe that they can force someone to fall in love with them. It just doesn't happen that way, and it's a good thing that it doesn't. The unpredictable and mystical nature of inspiration is the best part of it. Having a moment of inspiration feels just like falling in love for the first time. It's wonderful as long as you don't question it. Although writers thrive on inspiration, writers cannot create it; the best they can do is put themselves in a position to capture it, and then be ready when it comes.

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