Chris Ihidero Unedited: Writing 101 – How to write without inspiration

By Chris Ihidero

Against the disease of writing one must take special precautions, since it is a dangerous and contagious disease. –Peter Abelard

My teacher and boss, Amaka Igwe, once told me the story of how she created and wrote 140 episodes of Checkmate, Nigeria’s most celebrated modern television drama, all by herself. She wanted to tell the story of a modern day Amazon, who would take on a male-dominated world and conquer. At the time she held a day job as a Managing Director in a company in Victoria Island and Checkmate was shot weekly, directed by Bolaji Dawoodu. Every Friday she would check into a hotel and ask for a room with a view of the sea or the swimming pool, for she drew inspiration from seeing water. Somehow, she believed, her Muse connected with her through water. Years later, after Checkmate was done and dusted and the luxury of checking into a hotel room weekly was no longer available, she wrote anywhere and at anytime. She wrote on her bed, perhaps as her husband snored away beside her; she wrote through pregnancies…when she had to write, she wrote even if she was facing a blank wall.

Muse, the mythological Greek goddess who inspires and presides over the creative arts, is a funny character. (Ogun would be her equivalent in Yoruba mythology, although Ogun’s fiery temper also means he has destructive tendencies.) She descends on you in a moment and the world acclaims your genius; she departs you for a long spell and the world labels you a one-hit wonder, one whose inspiration has dried up. She never says when she’ll visit, or when she would depart. This is what creative people, especially writers, like to believe.

If you write for a living, you can’t afford the luxury of your inspiration being tied to a muse. If you write weekly for a newspaper, it is very unlikely that the editor will listen to excuses such as that your muse has deserted you, which is why you can’t turn in your column this week. When I started writing for The Guardian eight years ago, I was expected to turn in 400 words weekly. Jahman Anikulapo, that great human being and all round gentleman, was the Editor of the Guardian on Sunday. As long as you were not dead, Jahman expected you to put in your article, even if you stood at death’s door. It didn’t matter to him that I had no personal computer at that time and that I used to write my articles in a cyber cafe where I could often only afford to pay for an hour. He expected me to write, edit and send my article to him within that hour, case closed. I wrote that way for about one year before I could afford a laptop. It was the best writing training I ever got and I continue to thank Jahman for it till this day. By the way, if you ever get the chance to write for a worthy newspaper, even without payment, grab it; it is priceless.

I am sure you catch the drift of this article by now. When I sat at my writing desk to write about 2 hours ago, I had nothing to write about. I was blank, totally. The guys at NET had sent me reminders that they were expecting my article for my column and I had ignored them. They then sent reminders that I was delaying production as the paper should have gone to press by now. I replied and asked them to give me an hour more. As at the time I asked for an extra hour, I still didn’t know what to write about. I had no inspiration whatsoever, but I sat there at my desk…until it occurred to me that I could write about what to do when you don’t have inspiration and Muse has deserted you.

Well, the answer is quite simple: sit there and write, with or without inspiration. Just write. That’s why you are a writer. Inspiration is often a luxury you can’t afford!