The Observer, November 9, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 10
Worst Case Scenario: How to be inspired
In the dynamic world of university journalism, inspiration can be hard to come by. Consumed by the bitter struggle to balance radio training, working, doing service, being religious, and exercising – not to mention popping into class every once in a while and keeping up with a rigorous napping schedule – it can be hard to write anything more captivating than an extended whine. In fact, this may be the root of the recent television writers strike: it just got too hard to come up with new ideas. Unfortunately, in the pseudo-life that is college, you can't just go on strike. Your only key to literary salvation is generating your own inspiration. What follows are tips and tricks – along with a few moderately-inspiring ideas – to get your college writing career back on track.
The first keys to inspiration are the three As: anger, angst, and anxiety. Choose the things that get under your skin as subjects. Not literally, of course – unless you're writing in a medical journal, entomology review, or the Halloween issue of The Observer. Just draw on experiences from your lonely childhood, tortured adolescence, and upsetting slide into collegiate poverty, drunkenness, and debauchery. If few or none of these applied to you, borrow snippets of other people's lives – with their permission and acknowledgment, of course. Find ways to work into your writing the things that really make you angry. At times it may be difficult to relate the rise and reign of Catherine the Great to your idiot chemistry teacher's ridiculous grading policy, but the accomplishment of such a task will be limitlessly cathartic.
Next, seek inspiration from the world around you. You've got it – movies, television, and the Internet! Before beginning any writing regime, be sure to spend at least a few hours with your favorite celebrities. You know you'd want to do it anyway. The only drawback to this strategy is that your research papers will start to echo an Adam Sandler-esque silly irreverence unbecoming of a discussion of malaria treatment strategies in Eastern Africa. Keep in mind, though, that sometimes a mental break is just what the doctor ordered to get the creative juices flowing.
Thirdly, you can't force inspiration – this is the part where I justify my eternal procrastination. My mom is always telling me that Michelangelo once said he wasn't creating sculpture from stone, but that through his sculpture, he was releasing the art within the stone. Sometimes, though, a piece of paper is just a piece of paper. What can you do? I try to write what I feel. If I feel cranky, or as though the assignment is beneath my attention span, I insert that into my discussion – indirectly, of course. The key is to write as sarcastically as possible without letting on that you're being sarcastic. This little trick has transformed many a reprobate into a fawned-upon teacher's pet. Try it and watch the glowing letters of recommendation roll in.
Eventually, inspiration will strike. It just has to. Until it does, relax, brainstorm, and don't panic. Turn your writer's block into something positive – like the theme for your weekly newspaper column. Until then, I can't think of anything else so I'll be out on the picket-lines with my fellow put-upon writers.
