Flying By the Seat of Your Pants

Yesterday started National Novel Writing Month 2011.  It was my sixth time starting a novel, and for the first time, I had an interesting problem:

I had no ideas.

I got to school, opened my netbook to write, and like some of my students, I had not the first Earthly notion of where my story was destined to go.  I had a name floating around in my head, and that was it.  Charles was the name, though I've since changed that to Carlton.  Not much for the basis of a novel.

But as I stared at the screen, the most wonderful thing happened: ideas started flooding into my head, just when I needed them.  I thought, "What if this poor middle-manager type discovers he's actually a medieval hero?  More than that, what if he is actually the reincarnation of King Arthur, and he needs to help save the world from annihilation?"  As I've continued to write, ideas have come to me, at just the right time, and in just the right way.

Now, this is not going to win any literature awards.  Not by a long shot.  But is it enough that I can complete the 50,000 word challenge for the month?  Yeah, I'm thinking it is.

Oftentimes, we Creatives sit there waiting for the Right Idea, or the Perfect Idea, or the Divinely-Sent Idea.  When that doesn't come, we bemoan the fact we have no ideas and do nothing, when we in fact have many ideas, just none that we feel measure up to what we deem "Perfect."

Other times, we fail to start a project because we don't have any ideas at all, "Right" or otherwise.  Quite frequently in the creative realms, the work brings forth the ideas, not the other way around.

Whatever project you think you'd like to tackle -- from a 50,000 word rough draft of a novel to a new handbell arrangement to a life-sized sculpture -- instead of waiting for that perfect inspiration to hit you, why not try starting to work with what you have, even if what you have isn't much of anything at all.  You just might be surprised when amazing things come forth, ideas you didn't even know you had, and never would have found if you hadn't just sat down and done the work.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a novel to finish...