A few days ago, I got home from work, watched an episode of Seinfeld then prepared myself for a thousand hours of sleep. As I laid there in the dark, I started thinking about my new screenplay. I was thinking about the scene I was going to write next. It involves a pretty good ‘trailer’ moment and I was excited to finally see it on the page. Before I knew it, I was wide awake again and working out the scene in my head. I felt inspired. This burst of creativity was ignited by… the ceiling.
My actual ceiling.
It was like a light went off in my head. (Get it? See what I did there? It makes sense because the light in the picture is on… Never mind.) I continued to think about the scene but soon I found myself moving beyond to the rest of the story. There’s nothing like a blank ceiling to picture a movie. I wanted to get up but it was 3am so I reached for my phone to write a few notes. Once I finished, I thought the burst was over. I closed my eyes.
It wasn’t over.
My heart races and I get way too excited to sleep once I’ve reached that point. I had no other choice. 3am or not it was time to fire up the computer. These moments are amongst my favorites as a writer. The moments when you can’t even sleep because you just have to write. We’ve all been there. Anyone in a creative medium has felt this at some point. I probably could have slept eventually but I would have risked forgetting some of the material I was coming up with. Sleeping wasn’t an option. It was time to write.
I got out of bed and put on pajama pants and a giant hooded sweater. I entered my office, sat down at my desk and wrote for almost 2 hours. There it was, trailer moment and all. A scene I’m proud to say I wrote in the middle of the night.
It rarely happens but when I get inspired like that, I love knowing that I seized it. It’s an advantage for 2 reasons. The first is because of the rush you feel when you’re typing. The second is because when you finally do get to sleep and wake up the next morning, you’re greeted with a sense of pride and accomplishment. It’s a phenominal way to start your day. (I’ll admit it helps that my earliest shift begins at 2pm so I still had plenty of time to sleep.)
There are so many places people feel inspired. Some are intimiate like an ordinary ceiling in your room. Others can be stunning locations or a favorite park bench. We all have places we go to be inspired. Locations where we can think clearly. An environment that ignites creativity and keeps you up all night with an overwhelming sense of excitement. Whatever your ignition is, I recommend heading there as much as possible. The results aren’t in the pages you write, the canvases you paint or the songs you create. It’s in the satisfaction that you felt inspired to write, paint and play.
What’s your creative ignition?
Some day, I'll put pictures on my walls. It'll happen.
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