You Can't Start A Fire Without A Spark

Bruce Springsteen clearly has a lot to teach us. Okay, he might have been talking about love when he sung that line from Dancing In The Dark, but it's a pretty apt observation. You certainly can't start a fire without a spark. Not only is it applicable to love and life and adventures and happiness and new starts, but it coincides with writing.

At this very moment, I've sat down to write a short story, just to get into the habit of writing again, and I need the spark. I can't start without it. If I do, I will remain uninspired and the words will dry up, dwindle, and fade away, then I will have another beginning without a middle and end. The creative juices shall not floweth until I get a flicker. A bit of heat. Some sort of combustion would be nice. Something that will turn into an all out inferno.

It's hard to know when it will come. What will feed the fire. If the spark will fizzle due to lack of oxygen, much like every spark I've had in the last couple months. The best is when you do get the spark and a decent flame going, you're putting kindling on it, stoking it, blowing, and it catches! Oh, it's a glorious feeling to watch the fire build, then you need to put something bigger on it, so it can heat the whole house and not just the living room. This is where it turns into a real challenge. What if the bones aren't dry enough? What if it starts raining doubt and uncertainty? Sometimes a huge gust of negative wind will sweep through and threaten to extinguish the fire of creativity.

Sometimes it does, and you feel so angry that you spent all that time trying to build the fire. You're frustrated because you didn't get to put it out yourself. There are times you kick at the depressing ashes. Other times, you crouch back down and blow on the coals, hoping against all odds you can revive it. The joy that comes when you succeed is exhilarating, nothing compares, but so many times it simply burns out. You promise to come back to it later in the day. Days turn to months. Months to years. Every now and then, you revisit it.

All of this glorious work and frustration and excitement doesn't happen if not for one little thing.

A spark.

So, we wait.

Creative Hour

The Sidekick and I are trying to have a creative hour every night. From eight to nine. It's a tactic for each of us to focus on our arts. His being painting and drawing and mine being writing. I thought of the idea and wanted him to join me because if he doesn't participate then I'll feel as if I am ignoring him for an hour every night. Maybe even more, if I get on a roll. 

Last night was our first attempt and it was a complete disaster, though. I opened one of my old documents, a spark that fizzled out, and I wanted to breathe some life into it. Except, the dog I am babysitting decided he wanted to bite me, twice. And, believe it or not, I am one of those annoying people who are affected by their surroundings and what's going on. I love having the television on or music while I am writing, I can even handle the Skype noises when someone is trying to talk to me. 

One of these days, I'm going to finish these WIPs (work in progresses). If anyone asks, I'm not finished here. I have words to write. Books to complete. Stories to wrap up. Characters to flesh out. And plots to weave. Sometimes I worry about exciting stage left without having finished all these books that are half completed (some are even three quarters of the way there.) It concerns me that one day someone will look at my Dropbox writing folder and notice how most of the novels aren't finished. 

Then said person will write a blog about it. 

And the world will know how little follow through I have. 

These are the things I think about when my mind has a couple minutes to run off on its own. 

With all this being said, creative hour is simply a way to dedicate more time to what we love doing. Setting aside this time of day for our art means we have a reason to shut out the world, even each other, and just create. This is nice. Maybe tonight will go smoother.