Inspiration and Perspiration: Part Three - Perspiration

CW: Perspiration is the day-to-day, month-to-month, and sometimes year-to-year hard work that we writers need to complete a piece. Thomas Edison said it best: “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”

I love the creative inspiration the Muse inspires in me; despite being my favorite of the two, the Muse can’t usually work alone. In some ways perspiration, or the hard work, is the only one of the two where I am fully in charge.

Inspiration and perspiration often work together well. Inspiration strengthens perspiration, while perspiration nurtures inspiration. We can influence and dance with the Muse, but she usually takes charge of the inspiration. As writers, we are usually 100% in charge of our hard work.

Perspiration is a pain, but we can make it fun by learning and strengthening our book or article. It’s very much like exercising; I often have to make myself do it.

Other areas of perspiration include dedication, discipline, schedule, zero distractions, ability to focus, organization, making outlines, patience through research, revisions and much polishing.

Sometimes our perspiration begins before inspiration grabs us. In 1999 I began writing notes for my own use that summarized what I understood about depression and mental illness, based on what I had seen in my private practice and what I was reading in clinical literature. After I wrote over half of these "notes to myself," I realized that this information was too important not to share with the world. It then took me over 5 years to write The Truth about Depression and The Truth about Mental Illness.

Another example from Barbara -

BW: When the Muse comes to visit, I know a new book is percolating. I usually resist it for a while before I begin. The playful me is excited by the Muses visit, while the rest of me wants to run and hide. I know long-term hard work is about to happen, and the dedication involved kidnaps me for months that sometimes overflow into years.

When Jyoti and Russell Park, co-authors of The Power of Humility, presented us with a one page map (see this map in our article The Universe Works in Strange Ways, writersnewsweekly.com, volume 5, Issue 8, 5/20/08) which later evolved into a 182 page book, I knew I wanted to run and hide. Charlie and I knew this map was pure Muse. We also knew that if we could figure out a way to explain the Muse, it would be a contribution to the literature on communicating with ourselves, others and the God of our understanding. We also knew this would be a stretch for us. We’d never written a whole book together, just a few articles. And we’d never written with another couple. Our process evolved as we went along and proved that the one page map worked. Books I wrote prior to this project usually took a year or two; this one took five. We walked away from it for a while when we couldn’t see where to go next. Charlie wrote two other books during those five years and I wrote The Natural Soul.

Charlie’s two books written during that time were supposed to be one book; however through his long research he uncovered so much proof of his theme “The Truth about Mental Illness,” which 600 pages later, he divided it into two books.

Looking back on those five years, I realized that we perspired. We worked.

Perspiration and Inspiration come into balance in short articles like this one. I call them “a fast hit.” I get to experience the Muse, and the perspiration is over so fast that it’s just plain fun.

Charles and Barbara Whitfield share a private practice in Atlanta helping adults that have addictions and/or were repeatedly traumatized as children. They are the authors of 15 published books and numerous articles. They also give talks and workshops. For more information, visit www.cbwhit.com and www.barbarawhitfield.com