Writing is not always as inspiring as we would like it to be and while I feel our lack of inspiration has a lot to do with boredom I still feel we have control over where our inspiration comes from when it does not automatically come from within.
Twelve Places to Look for Inspiration:
Blogs — There and 1000s of blogs available at our finger tips from writing sites, published authors, and wanna-a-be writers. All of them are inspiring in their own ways. Many BIW members have blogs too. I can read about the writing life of others, read writing book reviews, or just read about the day to day. It doesn’t matter what I choose, something always succeeds in inspiring me.
Books — Writing books are endless wells of information. Opening one up and reading for fifteen minutes can sometimes sustain me for weeks. Reading a book by a favorite author is inspiring and a perfect release from any stress I might be creating about my own project.
Movies — I grew up loving movies of all kinds — romantic, horror, comedy, drama, action — I love them all. It is not surprising that they can inspire me so easily. Different things inspire me about different movies. In one movie it could be the rich characters and in another the setting or cinematography.
Images — I am obviously a visual person so artwork like paintings, photography, even commercial ads can inspire me. I will see a character or a setting I would like to explore or it can be something as a simple ripple of fabric. I have a print of a painting (Flaming June, c.1895) in my office that is forever providing me with inspiration. A good place to find images is on FlickR — they are free to look at and include people from all walks of life from all over the world doing activities I might not otherwise experience.
Music — I cannot listen to every day radio music when I write. I just end up singing along instead of writing but if I put on classical music (relaxing) then it seems to help me move my writing along. I also like to explore different music as research for a character — what would they listen to in the car, what would they dance to at home. Going outside my musical box in this aspect is very inspiring.
Quotes — I love quotes for many reasons. The obvious is the terse wording matched with expansive thoughts and meanings. They had something to say which makes me want to say something in return. They make great writing prompts too. Writing about the meaning of the quote, a philosophical interpretation, or using it for the opening of a chapter to represent a character or an event. Reading a bunch of quotes for ten minutes on any topic is inspiring.
Nature — Getting out in nature, on a trail or by a body of water is cleansing. It opens your mind to beauty in a way a walk down the city street cannot. Do not walk mindlessly along. Take in the greenery, the trees, the flowers, the buzz of activity, the scents. Take along a notebook and pen and sit somewhere to write.
Journals — Free writing, or morning pages, or whatever you want to call them are not so much inspiring as they clear out the clutter to make room for inspiration. Just start writing whatever comes into your mind with the focus of clearing the clutter: “I should be working on my story but instead I’m doing this stupid exercise. Did I take the chicken out to thaw? I wonder if Jody is having a good day at school. My toe hurts. I wish the sun would come out. I wonder if I should have my main character take a taxi instead of the bus…”
Shower — A hot shower relaxes the muscles and enlivens the sense of touch. For some reason I almost always get some form of inspiration in the shower; whether is be a new article, story, or problem solved. It is one of the reasons why I keep a notebook and pen in one of the drawers in the bathroom.
Exercise — Other than standing on your head nothing increases the blood flow to the brain better. Exercising teaches me focus and depending on what I am doing I can work through my writing problems. Or not think about anything at all which is both funny and fabulous because when I am not writing I am often thinking about ten things at once.
Dreams — I do not really keep a dream journal per se, but I do keep a notepad and pen by my bed for when I want to remember something I dream about. For the most part my dreams consist of zombies and kittens. But every once in a while I will dream a story idea that I want to remember so I make of point of writing it down. I may never use it but it will be there to inspire other ideas.
People Watching — I am constantly people watching. At the grocer, at the post office, at the doctor’s office, at the coffee shop. I love to watch people. I love to see what they are wearing, what they are driving, and how they interact with one another. My inspiration never runs out with the ever growing, ever changing human population.
Grab a paper and pen and make your list of places and things that inspire you. Post it some where in your office, next to your computer or in your day planner and the the next time you are lacking inspiration refer to your list and work through each item until you are fully inspired again.
Before you go share one or two things that inspire you!
Cheryl J says
I also find I do a lot of thinking about writing, stories (among other things) in the shower. I guess it’s something we do often and that does not require much conscious thought so our minds drift.