What is inspiration? Authors hear that sitting their buns in the chair and “just writing” is important for an author worth their salt (and it is). But I have to step up for inspiration and tell why I think it can create some of the best work ever. In other words, don’t diss the muse because sometimes the muse just might provide you with motivation so deep and genuine you’ll create work that will knock socks off many of your readers. 

I don’t mean just the inspiration that comes in the form of a pair of excellent abs staring at you from a photograph near your computer (though it can be a distinct inspiration during those love scenes that need a kick in the pants). Muse isn’t a dirty word, but a valuable part of creating a story that not only makes the author immensely proud but makes readers drool for more. Meaty, multi-layered stories often come to light because the author wants to tell a story bigger and better and to reach deep for truth. Does it always work? No. But if an author respects the muse and the genuineness it can give, the muse just might respect the author. 

As writers we like to think that everything we write is worthy and that we gave it our best shot. If we’re honest, though, we know when a particular scene or chapter, or an entire book just sings for us and when it was “meh.” Come on, fess up. You know what I mean. We’ve all got ‘em. Those stories that have nothing technically wrong in the execution, but the point of views didn’t run as deep as they could have or we were too tired to take the extra mile to reach deep inside and tell everything demanded of the story. 

Certainly there are times when we thought we were writing drek and it turned out fantastic stuff. Not merely nice or good or interesting. I mean raw, passionate, live passages that felt super down to the bones. I have a scene in the third book in my vampire trilogy, HAUNTED SOULS (www.ellorascave.com) that I love to show as an excerpt because I feel it illustrated all the emotions I wanted for the story. Angst, passion, fear, doubt, adventure, redemption. It’s where the vampire hero finds the heroine trapped in a cave and rescues her. The scene crackles with the unrequited sparks flying between them. Her desire for rescue, her fear of him, her feelings for him. All of it jived and felt right. 

In my time travel BRIDGE THROUGH THE MIST (Ellora’s Cave www.ellorascave.com) the secondary characters came vividly alive for me, begging to have their say. And the love scenes, the repartee back and forth between the characters burned bright as I wrote them. I was totally into the time period, the clothing, the vernacular, the ideals and beliefs of the time. 

In MALE CALL (Samhain Publishing www.samhainpublishing.com), I was mega inspired as I wrote the letters that went back and forth between the hero and the heroine. Maybe because using the “I” POV in the letters gave it a special freshness. I liked letting it all hang out, to allow the characters to verbalize whatever came into their head. It set me free, and from the response from readers, I think I managed to infuse that story with a little something extra. 

In CLOSE QUARTERS (Samhain Publishing www.samhainpublishing.com), the hero has secrets that keep him in the background. He wants peace and nothing to remind him of his former occupation. When he reveals to the heroine why this is the case, I knew the scene was right on and would hopefully strike an emotional gut-wrenching understanding in the reader. 

So authors, aspiring and published, when have you noticed you were spot on with your writing? 

Readers, when have you noticed the same thing in your own life? With a project, or an adventure? Come on now, I know you know what I mean.