If You Need to Feel Inspired to Write You Should Probably Find Another Career
Inspiration comes from putting in the work, not the other way around.
“I only write when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes at nine every morning.”
— William Faulkner
I’m going to preface this article by saying if you’re an amateur or hobbyist writer than this article doesn’t apply to you. Work however you feel like working.
However, if you’re a professional writer or aspiring to be one and you’re claiming you need to be inspired before you can write you should keep reading.
This one is for you.
Writing is a skill.
It’s a vocation.
It is more akin to blue-collar work than white-collar work and I’ve never heard a plumber say he needed to be inspired to unclog a toilet.
Up until the late 20th century and the rise of the writer/entrepreneur and the million-dollar journalist, it was plenty well understood that writers were working stiffs.
Most local papers weren’t populated with ivy league educated writers. People got jobs out of high school or community college and…
