Every piece of art has its beginning. It may be crude, faint, seemingly insignificant, but a beginning should never be mocked no matter what form it’s in because a beginning is how you eventually get to an ending. As obvious as that may seem, this point of inception is instrumental for every piece of art that has ever been created and every piece of art that will ever be created too. Without beginnings getting the attention they deserve, no story, no painting, no film, no song, no crochet pattern would ever exist; that’s why inspiration should always be taken seriously, wherever it may come.
Of course, this isn’t to say every beginning will get an ending (some inceptions are not always that sound or they might lack potential or possibly be too fleeting to grasp for very long), but if a beginning isn’t given any attention, then no ending will ever be reached. What this eventually leads to is the dreaded, half-finished works, things that haunt every artist. They are an inevitability when it comes to creating, but they shouldn’t deter you from creating in the first place; if you don’t follow that train of inspiration because you worry about leaving something unfinished, then you may just miss out on something brilliant.
Fear can be debilitating, but you should try and let it motivate you instead of halting you. Following inspiration whenever it strikes will lead you to an end of some kind, and that’s always a fruitful endeavour. You may not always have a finished piece, but inspiration and where it takes you is how you grow as an artist. It can be frustrating not to get an ending for something you’re working on, but the road of creation has many different paths and pursuing whatever inspiration you find leads to growth. As an artist, that’s something you absolutely must take advantage of.
So, where do you find inspiration. It comes to every artist in different ways. Some may find they are inspired when walking through a bustling city, others might need to search for it in films or books, there are even those who find what they need in their dreams, stories coming to them via their subconscious. Inspiration may be something you have to chase or it could be that your inspiration comes to you in a more passive way, that you have to be thinking about nothing to be open to receiving new ideas. If you, as an artist, think about what it is that inspires you, you’ll be able to find it, even if it’s something you’ve never really thought about before.
Try thinking of a common theme in your works. Is there always a tumultuous battle on the sea? Are your heroines fearsome but isolated? Do all your endings have a blossoming romance? If there’s a common thread, even if it seems a tenuous connection, then it could very well be that those are the things that inspire you. When you find the things that inspire you, whether they’re settings or particular tropes or even feelings, there’s nothing wrong with returning to them. There is a discussion about copying and when that becomes a problem (not one I’m up for debating today as it’s a troublesome beast in the art world), but finding inspiration in the world around you is often how new stories get their beginnings. If you discover that certain stories or characters bring you inspiration, return to them to see if they bring you anything new.
Sometimes, however, those things will resist you. Even if you know what usually brings you these new ideas, there might be times where it simply doesn’t work, and ideas and potentials evade you no matter how hard you try. It might be that, in this particular instance, trying too hard is the problem and that you need to be more open and passive to receive something this time around. That’s often a task that’s easier said than done, of course.
Perhaps it might be, in these instances where nothing is coming to you, that your brain is a little fried and needs a break. If things that usually bring you inspiration are offering you silence, either take that as a sign that you need some time to recuperate, or perhaps it’s an opportunity to try something new. Ultimately, that’s up to you to decide, but it could very well be that different avenues are what you need for a new idea, and this could also be something that allows you to grow as an artist too. If a walk through the trees brings you inspiration, try gaining inspiration from reading history books about Rome. If you usually find inspiration when daydreaming endlessly, why not venture to an art museum and see if any of the paintings bring you an idea? If watching movies about sci-fi futures gives you what you typically need, perhaps visiting a different city will make something flourish for you. Your tried and tested methods are often invaluable, but if they dry up or refuse you for some reason, why not try something different and see if a new idea comes your way? In all honesty, what’s the worst that can happen?
Now, it can be true that inspiration isn’t always convenient. When you’re in the depths of a story or a piece of work that you’re so eager to get finished and suddenly you get another idea that pulls your focus away, what do you do then? Do you practise your self-discipline and concentrate on what you were already working on, or do you chase this new potential to see if it might bring you something else, something that might end up being better for you in some way? When it comes to creating, there aren’t always answers that can be found elsewhere, a lot of the time you have to work it out yourself. There may be plenty of advice out there (cough cough) and it can absolutely be helpful, but the decision ultimately comes down to you. That doesn’t make the decision any easier, of course, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if creating was easy, the pieces that come out of that work and dedication really wouldn’t be worth it.
Other times, inspiration is inconvenient because it can bring you stories you’re not sure about or ones you don’t feel prepared to tell just yet. Maybe the ideas you suddenly have are for an entirely different genre or tackling a character arc you never thought you’d be interested in telling. Sometimes, the ideas you have can be overwhelming, making it feel like your art is a test when all you want to do is create something familiar to you, something within your limits.
In times like those, there’s nothing wrong with telling yourself you’re not ready to tell this particular story, but what you shouldn’t do is forget about it entirely. I’d argue that you should make a note of it and let it simmer for a while before coming back to it when you feel more prepared because, if it’s come to you for some reason, it’s likely a story that, deep down, you want to tell.
What you should also keep in mind is that, sometimes, the stories that push us the most are the ones that are our best; if people only ever stuck to what they knew and what they felt the most comfortable with, they would never grow. It’s often the stories that push you more as an author that not only come out the best but also show you just what you’re capable of and how much further you can still go. It might be inconvenient to receive an idea that you aren’t sure how to tackle, but maybe that’s a sign that your subconscious is ready to tell this story and you just need to find a way to tell it. My argument would be to never rush it, but to give it the attention it needs to be moulded into its best shape. Consider what this story is, why it came to you when it did and if it’s the kind of thing you need to tell rather than just something you want to tell (though wanting to tell a story is and will always be an exceptionally valid reasoning for writing, never forget that).
When it comes down to it, wherever a beginning ends doesn’t really matter, what actually matters is the growth these pieces of inspiration bring you and how they are all opportunities to push you further. We always want finished pieces of work but there are a thousand reasons and more why things get abandoned or left behind. The work itself, whatever state it may be in, will be important as a milestone in your journey as an artist. And who knows, maybe inspiration will strike again one day and give you what you need to finish it. All you must do is keep looking for the inspiration that can guide you where you need to go, even if it sometimes leads you in a direction you weren’t anticipating.
Robyn x
R. A. Howard 