Finding Inspiration

By Jenny Bradley.

I’m in Spain for inspiration. That’s my excuse.

How do we find inspiration? I’m not sure. I think often it finds us. Unexpectedly, that bolt we’ve all
felt but you need pen and paper ready. Or in my case, phone. It does happen.

But I believe you can make it happen, or at least, help it. Hence Spain.

And here it is, a piece.

It’s called bubbling up or letting it happen. Letting go. You throw your proverbial bread on the water
and wait. You don’t know what will happen, you never do. It could be a tiddler or a
phantasmagorical great shark. But something will bite, sometime. And when it bites, you’re caught
in its teeth.

Pushing and shoving doesn’t work. It may in a sort of, half baked, pedestrian or bread and butter
way. You can produce something decent to a formula, a half alive piece that ticks the particular
publication’s boxes. Journalists do it all the time.

But to be truly creative? To capture that gravelly, rasping essence of the local accent, gutturally spat
in your face? To face the morning sunrise with marshmallows and strawberry sundaes in mind? That
takes at least three glasses of wine. And yes, creativity IS enabled by mind altering substances.

But not always. All you need is a mind altering holiday. Or a Sunday afternoon. Just make space. See
the shapes in the sky. Watch the fairies dance in the daisies. Let the crazy verses come. The
nonsensical lines. The madness happen. It won’t all be rubbish. You will find a pearl from the grit.

And don’t push it. No-one likes to be pushed, least of all Ms Creativity.