In praise of earning that 'Eureka!' moment - #lakewoodnews

I once read a quote from Steven King where he said "I can't wait to sit down at my typewriter each day, so I can find out what happens."

I love that--;that's what makes the creative process so interesting.

I've been working for the last month on the finishing touches of my fifth novel (shameless plug), and I've been dealing a lot with that sort of process. The first part of writing a story is easy --; you have your basic plot points from the beginning, and you have the outlines of your characters that you're trying to create, and you have a setting that you have to explain. It's challenging, of course, to find the right words, and it takes a lot of work, but, once you've sat down to write, it's not all that hard.

For me, the hard part comes just after I've more or less done all of that, and I have to move the story down the road. I know there are a lot of writers who outline the story from beginning to end; I've even seen charts and graphs that people apply to story and character so that, from the moment their fingers hit the keyboard, they know in what direction they're headed. But I like to think my process is a bit more organic.

And by "organic," I mean "chaotic." There's a part of me that smugly says, "I'm not that formulaic," but the reality is that I'm just not that organized.

And, by the way, my approach is one that makes writer's block an almost certain event. When I get to a turning point in the story, and I haven't worked it out ahead of time, I end up staring at the blank page until something hits me.

Which is, occasionally, my wife, upside the head, reminding me I have something else to do.

But, let me tell you, that moment when the answer hits you, when the universe opens and gives you the next plot point --; that is FUN! I get to find out what happens next! There is still the mechanics of getting it on paper, but the hard part is over at that point.

And, by the way, yes, I had two such moments in the last two weeks, and I'm now just putting a bow on the story.

I think every creative process has similar moments and processes. I'm lucky --; I get still get to have moments like that when I write music, moments that feel like you just can't put your finger on the solution and then, out of nowhere, BAM!, there's the answer. Even this past spring, putting together an ambitious program (read: crazy) for my students, I had long stretches of time where I wasn't sure how it was going to work until suddenly I was.

Even scientists, like software designers, have moments like that. Maybe the genius who came up with Pokemon, GO!, was staring at lines of code for days, trying to get to that finishing touch that would make it what he envisioned, when, a-HAH!, he or she yells out to no one in particular: "Use the camera!"

That's why I have the utmost respect for anybody who is engaging in creation, regardless of the field. You can make your way through just about any day by following the formulas, the routines, the patterns that others have established and, often, things work out great.

But creating something new is hard, it's frustrating, it's maddening, and it often fails. Inspiration knows no timelines and doesn't follow charts and graphs. But only in creation do we really change the world.

So, be bold, if you have an idea, and be stubborn. Cling to it, and keep plugging at it until you bring it into the world. The end is always worth it, and the moments along the way are incredible in ways that you just can't explain.

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