INSPIRATION? or PESPIRATION?
Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration. Thomas Edison
I have no illusions about my status - I am definitely not a genius! But I think Thomas Edison was not far wrong with his observation of the ratio between sudden sparks of inspiration and the amount of dogged hard graft needed to produce any work of significance.
As a writer I can usually get the words to flow but only occasionally do I put something down that really pleases me. And the inspiration usually comes from the landscape that surrounds me.
I fee l myself privileged to live in such a wonderful place. It's not everyone's cup of tea - the beaches are mainly shingle, and when the tide goes out, there's often sticky mud that takes you unawares; the landscape is mainly flat and as for Dungeness... it's a Marmite sort of place. I know many people find it weird and alien - but that's why I love it.
So, when I get stuck, with a plot-line, or need to get a character, or his motives, clear in my my mind, I go to the beach: Pett Level, Dog's Hill, Rye Harbour, Dungeness. They all calm and clear my mind and, most often, provide me with the inspiration to perspire over the next piece of writing.
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