Happy new year, everyone.

Inspiration is an odd thing. I spent a large part of the weekend trying to come up with a decent idea to write a sketch about, and nothing was happening. I went through websites and new sites just to see if someone would click, and I came up blank.

Then, whilst washing up on Sunday night, I remember something that I had seen over the summer. Although it had given me something to talk about at the time as an amusing observation, it certainly wasn't something I could write a sketch about. Standing at the sink, however, I suddenly thought a few short words, a throwaway line, which made the whole thing into a much more interesting and viable situation for comedy writing. From that, I thought of a whole host of ideas about where the scene could go, and what the characters could say. I woke up Monday morning, and wrote it, in thirty minutes. It's no more than four minutes of comedy, but I hope it will works well for the impending show (details below).

First observation: Washing up is zen. Like long motorway driving, you enter a strange state of conciousness. In Chuck Palahniuk's latest book, Rant, (which I recently finished recommend) it is is explained that the theta level of brain activity, is the frequency that "mystics report that vision and inspiration are most likely to occur. In those relaxed moment, while bathing, driving or falling asleep, as you lapse into theta brain waves, you typically retrieve deep, distant memories. You make connections and achieve revelations."

Second observation: if that is a tedious way of thinking about it, then the Discworld idea that inspiration literally rains through the universe, occassionally striking a receptive mind and giving birth to an idea, is more interesting. Plus, it just feels right.

As promised: Correctness Gone Mad - a comedy sketch show written by Andy Murray and Craig Holmes, is on at the Burton Taylor Theatre from the 27th to the 31st of January, at 7.30pm. Do come.