Years ago, while working for a rare book dealer, I had the opportunity to catalog a collection of letters that John Steinbeck wrote to his family. He was young, just starting out. He spent a good part of a year living at Lake Tahoe alone in a cabin while he worked on his first novel. His letters talked about the struggles of living at Tahoe in the winter time in the 1920s with no electricity. He shoveled snow to get around and rowed across the lake for supplies.

He talked about writing and revising. He finished the book then started immediately into writing a  second draft. At the time, I didn’t understand why. If it was finished, it was finished, right? He worked his story until he got it where he wanted it. Can you guess the which book it was? I doubt it. It was called Cup of Gold, a pirate story. Steinbeck went on to become a great writer, but that first book? Not so much. I’ve never read it, but I have to believe that there’s a reason that it’s not on his Best Hits list.

I spent last week snowshoeing around the Tahoe area. I thought about Steinbeck a lot. I thought about him slogging through the snow and chopping wood to get the stove hot to warm up. I thought about him standing on the side of the mountain looking down on the lake like I did. It made me smile. I was encouraged that his first book wasn’t a great success. I was encouraged because he didn’t let that stop him. His best work came later, after Cup of Gold. We should all take heart. Just because your work doesn’t shine now, it doesn’t mean that it won’t later.

On one sunny day, the sun radiated off crystalized snow like diamonds. As I followed that path strewn with gems, it felt a little corny, but I knew I was following  good footsteps.

When I have questions about what to do with my writing, I take any ideas I get in the shower seriously. It’s the Left Brain/Right Brain thing. The Right Brain is the Control Freak and the Left Brain is the Wild Bohemian. The Wild Bohemian can get a little silly, or uncomfortably creative, but not all the ideas are excessively wild. There are gems in there as well. Gems that should be studied and acted upon. The Control Freak, however, says, “Not on my watch! Have you seen what goes on over there!” Slam! The steel door that divides the two worlds crashes down, and with any good control freak, the door controls are only on one side.

Activities like taking a shower, driving, or doing dishes lull the Control Freak into a bored stupor. He stops paying attention because he thinks he can control taking a shower in his sleep. The Wild Bohemian waits for those times! As soon as he sees the Control Freak nod off, out come all the crazy and wonderful ideas that have been dancing around the divide. And they’re not all crazy or wonderful. Sometimes they are smart and insightful. Stuff the Control Freak would claim for himself but would refuse to allow if it came from the Wild Bohemian.

The trick is for you to know that the creativity and inspiration that you need for what ever it is you’re doing is in you. You just have to pay attention when your Control Freak is nodding off. Don’t write off those ideas. Sometimes the Wild Bohemian gets so frustrated at not getting out that he crashes your dreams at night. Pay attention to them too. Remember, you are gifted to do specific things and the tools you need are in you. You still need to develop and refine them, but you also need to know how to access the gems when you need them. Just remember to put your clothes on before you rush out dripping wet with your new idea.