The inspired writer

An interview with Elliot Perlman in the Sydney Morning Herald‘s Good Weekend magazine contained a lovely thought about writing and inspiration. I haven’t read his books (yet!) but I like what he says here – it also connects with what I’ve been talking about with other writers lately about needing to switch off parts of your brain at various stages of the writing process:

Seldom are those moments when you feel as though there’s an antenna attached to your head that’s receiving direct communication from the sky. Most of the time you’re slogging away and trying to get rid of the voice in your head that’s saying, “That’s not very good”. Of course, you have to have inspiration sometimes, otherwise you’ve got no basis for telling a story. But once you’ve had that, it’s overwhelmingly perspiration and endeavour.

What is the process of inspiration like for you? Do you have to consciously switch off your internal ‘critical voice’?