Lightbulb moments

Should I stay or should I go... actually there's no debate over that. I'm due at a friend's girlfriend's birthday in about an hour, so I won't be able to sit and write this evening... despite really, really wanting to. So instead, I thought I'd quickly jot some thoughts in here about lightbulb moments.

One of the 'perils' of being a writer is that an idea can hit you at any time, and sometimes it can feel like the absolute best idea in the world, and one you have to write immediately. Which is a real pain in the ass when you're trying to be good and continue what you're currently working on, because your mind can suddenly start working overtime on the new idea, and the current idea suddenly seems more like a chore to write than a joy. This of course, is just my experience, but I don't think the concept of 'shiny new thing' being more exciting that 'dull old thing' is that out there.

On top of that though, I'd argue it's actually a lot worse if you're writing erotic fiction, because of course then your new idea tends to be something that actually arouses you more than your current muse. So then your urge to explore that idea is even stronger, because hey, it'll get you off. The unique challenges I face to bring you spank material, eh..?

Anyway, regardless of the fact that they can throw you off track and make you veer away from the direction you're heading, these 'lightbulb moments' are totally and utterly precious, and should be cherished. That's why when I get them, I'm very happy.

(I call them lightbulb moments, by the way, because of that cartoon tradition of seeing a lightbulb go on over someone's head to illustrate an idea being formed. It's when the spark of creativity meets the practicality of creation. God, that sounds wanky. But it's basically that "Eureka!" moment, although I doubt Archimedes was having a sex fantasy when he said that. Although he was apparently in a bath, so....)

I've been blessed over the years with a few close 'net friends who I can count on to occasionally provide these moments. Sometimes it just happens gradually, through casual conversation about mutual kinks. Sometimes it's forced to happen, like when I've asked for close examination of a piece of writing I'm working on, to get past a block.

And sometimes it happens spontaneously - like a bolt from the blue - when someone suggests something you'd never thought of:

"You know who I thought would make a perfect comic book masking character? Selina Kyle."

That's how great ideas get started. Thanks, Val, as always.

Oh incidentally? We'll be calling that Project AC. Consider it on a backburner... but still bubbling.