Inspiration and Truth

I seem to have lost a bit of my motivation, momentum, whatever. Having finished one manuscript and most of a second, I can't quite work up the necessary enthusiasm. As I was pondering what to do about that, I read this quote from Jack London:

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

Ah, Jack. Liked your stuff when I was a kid. Just about wore out my paperback copy of The Call of the Wild. Still have it crammed tightly into the bookshelf to keep it together, its pages yellowing and brittle and threatening to fall out of the binding.

A few months ago, I wrote a blog entry about how fiction is often the best way to convey truth. Mark Twain has this to say on the subject:

Most writers regard truth as their most valuable possession,
and therefore are most economical in its use.

Mr. Clemens, you're a sly one. I read about Tom and Huck repeatedly until my copies literally fell to pieces. Ah, well. Huck Finn had already been well-read by my mother in her youth, so I had a little help in loving the book to death.

Gotta get back to the day job, but maybe--with a hand from Jack and Sam--I'll be ready to write like crazy when I get home tonight.