On the Physics of the Illusory

Ideas--true creative inspirations--are subtle, like that illusory dream that quietly fades seconds after awakening. Ideas can't be forced. Instead, they form at the edges of consciousness, lingering there until noticed; and then, you try to focus on them, and they seem dimmer, less focused. Like stars--brighter when you look away, because of the increased ratio of rods to cones in the peripheral retina. I wonder if some physiological aspect of the brain is comparable.

I feel like searching for an idea requires stealth. Pretend to focus on something else, keep the hunt for an idea in the subconscious--and then, in the middle of reading a book or taking a shower, it appears, and you seize it with a triumphant Eureka! And your captured idea becomes the basis for your poem, or your short story, or your screenplay.

Forced ideas, I feel, make average literature.