Inspiration

“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistence in practice.”

~Octavia E. Butler, from Bloodchild and Other Stories

Butler is one of my favorite SciFi writers.  She writes female characters that are amazing: always of color, almost always queer in some way (bisexual, or polyamorous and living in alternative relationships, or shape-shifters who push the boundaries of what it means to be male or female), always complex with an arc for growth, always the main character.  Her words are often simple and bare, but she has a way of cutting through to the very meat of a character or situation that is extremely powerful.  She can be very dark at times, but there is always something - some strength or hope for the future - that I can connect with to carry me through the struggle.  I always finish her books and mull over the characters and world for days after.

She is an inspiration to me, and even though my style is different I always hope my writing is as powerful as hers.  In the process of looking for the source of this quote, I found out that each of the short stories in the collection listed above have essays by Butler after them.  I'm very excited to read them and see what else she has to say.