Have you
seen my notebook? It’s unmistakable; it has the Clueless Betties on the front –
it’s a Typo one. I’ve been running around like a chook sans head looking for
it. It’s probably at the bottom of the porta-cot/makeshift giant toy box. Let
me check… oh, okay. No luck. You see, I wanted to write about some unlikely
writing inspirations of mine and there’s a rough draft on the topic in the
uber-cool notebook. The ironic part of this is that one of my inspirations is a
fictional TV character who lost his entire novel manuscript in a house fire (ie.
Writer’s worst nightmare). His name was John ‘John-Boy’ Walton Jr., and he was
the eldest child in a poor, close-knit God-fearing family, living during The
Great Depression and World War II.
As a fellow
writer, I keenly felt the devastation of the eldest sibling from ‘The Waltons’.
He lived in a time where you couldn’t print out multiple copies or email one to
yourself at work just in case computer crashed. Years’ worth of sleepless
nights, effort and emotion was poured into his manuscript, only to go up in
flames. From memory, a good pep talk from his parents convinced him that he
should be thankful that no one died in the fire; that he shouldn’t waste energy
regretting the loss of his manuscript, and biggest of all – he should just
start from scratch with the book. His parents didn’t have time to sit around
mourning the loss of their family home filled with memories. They had to get on
to rebuilding so that they could put a roof over the head of seven children.
Surely if they could manage that, he could find the will to suck it up, feel
the gratitude and write his novel again. I don’t remember a lot about it, but
I’m pretty sure the second incarnation of his book was superior to the
original. After all, the loss of his home and the frustration of a novel up in
flames would add a bit more anger and emotion to the new version, I imagine.
It’s one of
those TV re-runs that renews my vigour whenever I feel like giving up. It reminds me that I have at least one story in
me that needs to be shared with the world and that I’m prepared to fight to
make that happen. Come fire, flood or apocalypse. (Even constant rejection?
Maybe.)
Another
unlikely writing inspiration of mine is the one, the only, David Hasselhoff. He
doesn’t throw in the towel EVER. He is well known for being sup-par. It seems
that he was oblivious to the fact he was being laughed at for years, but then
it dawned on him and he milked it for all it’s worth. I admire him for a making
me laugh with the cheesy music videos he made in the 90s, the bad acting he
displayed in Baywatch, and most of all, his determination to have fun with it
all. In my mind, simpletons write him
off as crap, whereas smart people with a sassy sense of humour appreciate what
he brings to the world – a crazy sense of fun in a world where fun is sorely
missing. I don’t know if he’s ever tried to write a book, but his ability to
laugh at himself, endure the criticism, and keep making the most out of life
and every opportunity always inspires me to keep on truckin’. Plus, he has a
car that does all the driving for him and exchanges witty banter with him. Who
wouldn’t want that?
A younger,
new-generation inspiration of mine is one Jenna Moreci. You may not have heard
of her, but I discovered her while looking for YouTube videos re: writing
advice. There are quite a few out there, but this lady is one of the few that
has personality and wit. She swears like a trooper so I’m best off listening to
her at work on my headphones so the kids don’t pick up on the colourful
language. Her potty mouth is endearing to me though – especially when she recommends
telling Negative Nellies and naysayers to f*ck off!
She’s
independently published herself on Amazon.com. I’ve started reading her
rollicking sci-fi novel, ‘Eve: The Awakening’ online and it’s hard to put down.
She’s works tirelessly to promote herself. Not only does she make a writing
advice-type video once a week, she also has a blog, impressive looking
headshots and is active on all social media that I use. I admire the way she
takes advantage of the technology available in this day and age to make herself
known as a writer. She obviously has worked her arse off to write this book
(and others to come) in the first place, and she doesn’t need to rely on
traditional publishing to make a name for herself. Jenna inspired me to start my Facebook page,
‘Ink and Coffee Beans’, actually. (So did a couple of my personal arty friends,
but that’s a story for another time.) Her videos re: marketing yourself before
you even finish the first book put a fire up under my behind. They spurred me
on to do the unthinkable: put my name out there and risk rejection. Because Jenna
shows that amidst all the rejection, something amazing can happen – you can
actually finish your book and be crazy enough to let others read it! And if you
work really hard and commit to it like Jenna, you may even get a whole bunch of
Five Star reviews like she has on Goodreads! Feeling like I know the lady personally
made me eager to read her book. There’s something in that for all of us, I
think. Give a piece of yourself and people will want more. (But don’t do it in
a Kardashian way. Unless that floats your boat.)
So tell me.
Whether you’re a writer, an artist, or a taxidermist – who are the unlikely (or
likely) muses who inspire you and motivate you to keep going despite
self-doubt, rejection and a cruel, cruel world? I’d love to know. (Is it
devastating to lose your taxidermied animal in a house fire? Guess it must be…)
