I mentioned towards the end of my last post on this page that mental strength is important for writers. When life penetrates the armour of fanaticism and reason takes over, a strong mind is all that stands between destruction and our faith. Nevertheless, while mental strength helps us persevere, great writing needs to come from within with ‘elemental force’ to quote Nietzsche’s ubermenchen (bad English translation: superman) Goethe. The following, then is my list of tried and tested means of soul seduction:
Jogging, (no. 2 after reading)
Inconvenience: just when I am nicely warmed up at the end of the first kilometre and am actually looking forward to the next few, inspiration strikes
Travelling,
this is great to keep the jadedness away and provides new material
Inconveniences: you lose control, however, that is also necessary at times as it turns us into a child. If one is a good traveller, the natural curiosity can also induce child-like states of mind and push past the jadedness
Costs money. For those who cannot afford the dream trip on a cruise liner or to the tropics, the local bus and subway/metro are useful too to refresh the mind.
Long walks,
take a pen and paper
inconvenience: more a downside; they don’t always work as the mind is still too active for inspiration to strike
Reading (always works),
I will soon create an exclusive page for writing
inconvenience: you need to know what to read. Reading has a powerful impact on me and knowing what to read requires years of reading, confusion, contemplation and ultimately finding yourself, that makes it easier to know what to read. Another way, a kind of shortcut, is to stick to the classics.
Cafes
The best part about these is that you can take your laptop and actually write in one of these
inconvenience:
it can get tiring sometimes, especially if the need to be alone strikes
Night clubs
great place to observe people. Very stimulating. You will need a smart phone
inconvenience: inspiration might strike when you are in the middle of making your move
Alcohol
It works well, like jogging
inconvenience: very fine line between getting rid of mental noise and getting intoxicated . And unreliable; too many variables involved in getting it right. I still do it thought, sometimes out of sheer boredom or habit. It is harder not to do it than to do it.
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