The Creative Drive

I touched on this a little bit on my last post and I thought about going over it further there, but then decided that it would be too distracting. So it get's it's own post. Yipee.

What drives artists?

I was at work the other day, making panini and chopping onions. It's a typical day at the Italian restaurant and my coworker who works up front pops back into the kitchen for a bit. We talk and she finds out that I'm a writer and then she asks the dreaded question.

"So what is your book about?"

I don't think I've mentioned the street smarts you learn on the sidelines of the writing circles. Pro-tip, never, ever, EVER, ask a writer to tell you about their book because this is not a simple question. You are getting way too close to the tiger's cage, my friend. You are risking things you didn't even know you were risking by asking an author to share with you what is essentially their unborn child. Therefore, do not ask unless you are prepared for one these three responses.

1.) "Why? Who do you work for? Are you going to steal my ideas, gasp, you are after my ideas aren't you!"

2.) Oh ok first blah blah blah...oh, but before that you need to understand blah blah blah... but you see it's all hidden intricately in the fact that blah blah blah...because you see ten years ago blah blah blah...(3 hours later) but I can't tell you the ending, it'll give too much away.

3.) A very simple bare sketch of the plot. Too little details to steal, just enough to test interest. Five minutes max.

All writers can have elements of these three in their responses, but writer number three is very, very rare.

If you don't want to be staring into the depths that is an authors never ending creative workroom of scattered nuts and bolts, mention that you would just like the dust jacket version. If you value your life, clarify that you are not also a writer or at least, feign disinterest because you write different genres anyway. Bless the third writer because they are socially aware enough to not suspect you or take up your time.

Anyways...

Because I am self aware, I gave her the dust jacket version and she seemed kinda interested then leaves to go back to work. There was no large indication of any real,"oh I will totally read that someday," interest.

About a week later, she asks how the book is going and I realize that I haven't even touched it since I'd first told her about it. I was flattered she asked, because it at least meant the book had some hook. Then she asked again the next week...and the week after that.

Now, I'm starting to get uncomfortable.

My inner writer number one was starting to peek around the corner while sharpening an Alice in Wonderland style clever. I put that idea to sleep quickly because my coworker is not, in fact, a writer.

Or is she?

Hmm...(snick, snick)

This encounter did get me thinking though. I put writing on hold in college because of stress and I was again putting it on hold because of full time work and school.

Was this all that was holding me back though?

As busy as I am, I can still fin the odd two hours or so in my week. Then I realized something.

As a kid, writing was my escape. A lot of creatives probably relate to this, but I was really lonely growing up and writing gave me some release. It was fun. It didn't really have rules. I could do whatever I wanted, be whoever I wanted and I always knew how the story would end.

Fast-forward to now and most of my writing is bogged down in publishing concerns before it even has a chance to grow into anything.

So I ask you, what drives you? What sparks your creative muse? For me, it seems to be a certain something: desire, a type of music, another artist, the desire to tell a good story. How do you spark your muse?