Do you ever wonder where ideas come from? I was trying to come up with something to write about today and I began to think: how do authors begin their books? Where do the ideas come from? I know that there are tricks to get one into the spirit to write. I know of authors who went on long walks to try and trigger an epiphany. Many seemed to have believed that their stories lay at the bottom of a bottle. But whether lost in the mountains or hopelessly drunk, that’s not really where the ideas come from. So where do they come from, then?
I remember my father telling me about a poet, I can’t recall if he read something to me or if it was one of the many stories he told me. Details foggy as they are, the tale always stuck with me. He told me of a poet who would go for walks in search of an idea. She would be strolling in the hillside when all of a sudden she would feel this howl of inspiration blow past her like a gust of wind. She would race home, and if she was lucky, she would have enough time to jot her idea down before the wind had passed. Some days, though, she only caught a couple of words. I’m sure my dad or I would joke that maybe the difference between a good poet and a great one are a pair of running shoes.
I like to think of ideas in the same way that poet did. I catch them. I am a lightning rod and the trick is waiting for lightning to strike. Most of the effort is in getting to the roof. It’s probably an oversimplification, but I like the imagery, so I’m sticking with it. I have tried and tried to no avail to find the original story of this poet or the poem my father may have read me. Perhaps you will stumble upon it in your life. If you do, I hope it sticks with you the way it has with my dad and me.
It sounds a little nuts but if you feel tapped of creativity, maybe try listening to the wind. Who knows what incredible ideas might blow right within your reach. I just hope you’ve stretched.