I turn my car stereo up to a perfect volume—59. My ears may pay for it later, but I don’t care. I love the way the music takes over me. It helps me relax and focus on the cars around me. I’m not sure how, but it does.
It’s times like these when my Personal Creative Inspiration (PCI) knocks on the door.
Robin! Answer me!
Most times, I roll my eyes and keep driving. I’m a little busy here. But she never listens. No matter what I’m doing, she never listens. For about the past twelve years, she hasn’t listened once.
Okay! So, remember that non-fiction piece you wrote a couple of days ago? I made a list of everything you forgot to write. I’m sending it to you now. You’ll remember it for about five minutes, so try to write it down before you forget! I’ll remind you in about five to thirteen days if you do.
PCI! I’m driving!
Good luck!
Some ideas she sends me are good. They’re too perfect to pass up. So, here I am, repeating them to myself until I can pull over and write them down. I’ll open notes on my phone and type as much as I can before the inspiration leaves.
My PCI is the worst sometimes. I’ll be out with friends and she’ll scream ideas at me. When I’m with family, she whispers random facts that I should remember to go back through and edit. Do you know when she shuts up? When a blank Word document is right in front of me…
At times, I wish I could sit down with her and write a contract.
I, Robin’s PCI, will not tell, scream, or even talk about writing or editing to Robin when she’s unavailable. If so, I will go to time-out and never come out until called upon again.
As I’ve mentioned before, writing is not a job I can clock out of. It’s a job that wears me down because I never leave. Creativity is trapped inside me, begging to get out. My PCI tries to manage it all, but let’s face it: she’s a terrible manager.
One of my favorite Ted Talks called Your elusive creative genius talks about when creative inspirations come at bad times. Instead of getting upset, this one writer stopped what he was doing, turned to his PCI, and said, “Excuse me. Can you not see that I’m driving? Do I look like I can write down a song right now? You know, if you really want to exist, come back at a more opportune moment when I can take care of you. Otherwise, go bother somebody else today.”
When I first heard it, I laughed along with the audience. I thought it was hilarious that this talented creative person turned to the sky and said that out loud. I giggled for a bit before I stopped and thought: Wait. Why am I not doing that?
Over the years, I’ve forgotten about this Ted Talk, which is terrible to say because it is such an amazing one. Remembering the Ted Talk made me think about how much power we have over our PCI.
I can control my creativity.
Robin LeeAnn 