Monday, June 17, 2013

Inspired Like John Lennon?

I've been hard at work on Book Two of my "Rose Of Skibbereen" novels and things are moving along nicely. I should have the ebook published by my target date of June 27.
Although there are no problems with writer's block, and I'm feeling inspired, maybe I've gotten extra inspiration lately because I took a trip to Bermuda.
My wife and I visited Bermuda almost three decades ago, early in our marriage, and we wanted to go back to celebrate our anniversary this year. It's a beautiful place, and in fact I'd say it was the second most beautiful place I've ever visited, behind only Hawaii.
Anyway, I learned during our visit that John Lennon also visited Bermuda, back in 1980, and the trip opened up new creative wellsprings in him, which culminated in "Double Fantasy", the last album he recorded before his death. Shops all over the island were selling Lennon Bermuda, which is a double CD of Lennon songs recorded by various artists.
The Bermuda trip was something special for John Lennon. He had been in a creative drought, and had not released an album in five years prior to the trip. In June of 1980 he rented a yacht with a crew, and they set sail from New York to Bermuda. They encountered a fierce storm along the way, and Lennon had to help the crew, which was overwhelmed, to sail the boat through the raging gale. The experience seemed to release a lot of bottled up energy, and when he got to Bermuda Lennon found that he was able to write songs again.
The result was "Double Fantasy", one of the most memorable Lennon albums ever.
When I heard this story I wondered if Bermuda could have the same effect on me. I've had no problems with a creative drought, but even so, inspiration is always welcome. I had my laptop computer with me, and I did feel that I was writing at a higher level on the trip than I had been before. Maybe there's something about those balmy breezes or the clear Bermuda water that inspired me to new heights of creative writing.
Whether readers will agree, only time will tell.

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