You know what "The Moment" is. It can happen at work, in bed, in the shower, even while walking down the street. It's kind of like catching the holy ghost.
You just wait til they start hikin' up their skirts and stompin the floor!
"The Moment" is when someone--be they artist or arithmetician--realizes their calling and cannot ignore it any longer. My friend is an excellent writer. We share a common struggle called "Shit Happens". Shit Happens is exactly what it sounds like. It's your dog dying, your wife divorcing you, your boyfriend leaving you, your girlfriend throwing away your favorite worn out Converse sneakers. Shit Happens is anything and everything that will offer you an excuse to not do your work. I don't mean to seem unsympathetic, I AM unsympathetic. I am looking at the "old me", or really just regular me a few months prior--and about 40k words less, mind you--who was making excuses for herself. She had real problems; she was jobless, her relationship of 3 years seemed like it was failing, she was losing friends left and right and couldn't understand why.... And she let those very real and very depressing things distract her.
In truth, there are no excuses. If you are upset, write and distract yourself. If you are in a hurry, write on napkins or in the note app on your cell phone. If you need to clean the house and can't sit down and type, use dictation software. There is no valid excuse unless you say so. There is no teacher to chide your absence, no boss to deny your vacation days. If you are not writing there is no one to blame but yourself.
You have to realize that before hand, because that takes up space and "The Moment" needs room to move through!
I imagine "The Moment" is a big diva who doesn't need to make herself known. When she arrives, you KNOW
I wish I could remember my exact moment. I thought it happened in February of 2013, almost a year ago. I quite my real estate job because I hated it and, by that point, all I did was rush through my work so I could write my novel in Google Docs. I quit, completely unprepared, convinced I was going to start, finish and submit the novel that would get me a deal.
In September of 2013, I got a new job.
I had to admit that I half-assed it. And furthermore, I had a tumultuous summer--which I know now is irrelevant to my work but I didn't know that then and I let it stop me completely. Suddenly after I started my new job, I got this wave of invigoration. I started to write every day. I made plans for events and conferences. I started to read more. I submitted and applied to fellowships. I am averaging about 10k words a month and my draft will be finished in January.
Ever since I had my "moment", I haven't had writer's block for more than a couple days and I've been active about fixing it, instead of hoping it will go away. Since I've had my "Moment", people have been telling me how inspired they are by me and how they wish they could be as motivated. I'm inclined to say that all they have to do is stop "wanting" and "wishing" and just do it. The roughest part of writing the book is sitting down to write. Once the fingers move on the keyboard and the words start flowing, you never want to leave.
But I could be wrong. It might not be that easy. If you want to induce your moment--yes, like pregnancy--read The War Of Art. It's a good kick-in-the-pants and a quick read. The bottom line is, there is no reason you're not living your dream right now. JK Rowling was on welfare when she wrote Harry Potter--and she did it by choice because she's just more of a G than you are.
Note: this is not an actual picture
Write that book. It really won't write itself.
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