How To Find Inspiration
Hey everyone! Thanks for the great turnout yesterday, it only makes me want to keep pushing forward. So, today I want to talk to the fellow artists that read this blog. Do you struggle finding inspiration for your next project? It can be hard sometimes; I think anyone in our field can relate to that. Those countless hours spent sitting around waiting for the inspiration to find you, but we all should know that's not going to do much. Inspiration can't find you, you have to find it. Stephen King “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
That's the attitude you need to have in this business. It's fun to sit around and imagine stories in your head. Hell, I know people that have entire series of books with complex characters and story lines, but for some reason jotting it down is impossible. I don't know the exact reason why people do this. Maybe the actual work seems too hard, maybe they don't trust their ability to write, or it could just be that they're afraid that their story isn't as good as they thought and no one will appreciate it like they do. Whatever the reason, and I've said this here before, you just have to sit down and write.
Doesn't matter what you write. Just do it. Maybe it's because I'm a gardener, but I find it easier to get inspiration when you search for it. It will just show up unexpectedly, and your job as the writer is to follow where it leads. It may not be very far sometimes, but it will be worth it in the end. Don't worry if you don't know how to start looking, I've done some searching myself for this topic and found some useful tips and tricks to help you find what you need.
1. Books
Maybe my favorite overall. I read writers I love and then I steal from them, analyze their writing, get inspired by their greatness. Fiction is my favorite, but I’ll devour anything. If you normally read just a couple of your favorite authors, try branching out into something different. You just might find new inspiration.
2. Movies
Sometimes, while watching a movie, a character will say something so interesting that I’ll say, “That would make a great blog post!” or “I have to write that in my writing journal!” Sometimes screenwriters can write beautiful dialog. Other times I get inspired by the story itself.
3. Friends.
Conversations with my friends, in real life, or on the phone, have inspired some of my best posts. They stir up my ideas, contribute ideas of their own, and they fuse into something even more brilliant than either of us could have created.
4. Quotes
I don’t know why it’s so, but great quotes help inspire me. I like to go to various quote sites to find ideas to spark my writing, turns of phrase that show what can be done with the language, motivation for self-improvement. There are plenty of websites made just for writers.
5. Nature
Stuck for ideas? Go for a walk or a jog. Get away from sidewalks and into grass and trees and fields and hills. Appreciate the beauty around you, and let the inspiration flow through you. Sunsets and sunrises, of course, are two of my favorite uplifting scenes of nature, and anything involving water is also awesome (oceans, rivers, lakes, rain, rivulets, even puddles).
6. Religion
Many of you aren’t religious (and many are) but it doesn’t matter much — the great religions in the world have ideas in them that are beautiful and inspiring. I’ve studied some of the writings of not only Christianity and Judaism but Islam, Bahai’i, Buddhism, Taoism, and many cultures with multiple nature gods. I can’t say I’m an expert at any of these religions, but I can say that any time I’ve spent reading the ideas of religion have paid off for me in inspiration.
7. Dreams
I’m not very good at this, but at times in my life I’ve tried keeping a dream journal by my bedside and writing down what I can remember when I wake up. Not because I think it’ll tell me something about myself or my future or past, but because dreams are so interesting in their complete disregard for the rules of reality, for their otherworldness and plot twists.
8. Freewriting
Like I was saying earlier, this is what I do when I'm stuck. It's one of the best ways to get unstuck if you’re uninspired. Just start writing. Anything. It doesn’t matter. Don’t edit, don’t pause, don’t think. Just write and let it flow. You’ll end up with a lot of garbage, probably, but it’ll help you get out of your rut and you might just write some really good stuff among all that garbage.
9. Brainstorming
Similar to freewriting, but instead of writing prose you’re writing ideas. Just let them flow. Speed and quantity is more important than quality. Within this brainstorm of ideas, you’ll most likely find a few nuggets of greatness. One of my favorite ways to get ideas, and this method is how I got the idea for my novel, The Days After.
10. People-Watching
This is an interesting activity for any writer. Go to a busy public place and just sit and watch people. They’ll amuse you, inspire you, fascinate you. There’s nothing more inspiring than humanity.
I think 10 is a nice, solid number to stop at. I hope you all find this post useful to you and you writing. And just remember, once you've got your golden idea, don't marvel at it for too long. Take it, and get to work on it. There will be plenty of time to pat yourself on the back when you've finished. Happy writing all, and I'll see you tomorrow.
Buh-bye.
That's the attitude you need to have in this business. It's fun to sit around and imagine stories in your head. Hell, I know people that have entire series of books with complex characters and story lines, but for some reason jotting it down is impossible. I don't know the exact reason why people do this. Maybe the actual work seems too hard, maybe they don't trust their ability to write, or it could just be that they're afraid that their story isn't as good as they thought and no one will appreciate it like they do. Whatever the reason, and I've said this here before, you just have to sit down and write.
Doesn't matter what you write. Just do it. Maybe it's because I'm a gardener, but I find it easier to get inspiration when you search for it. It will just show up unexpectedly, and your job as the writer is to follow where it leads. It may not be very far sometimes, but it will be worth it in the end. Don't worry if you don't know how to start looking, I've done some searching myself for this topic and found some useful tips and tricks to help you find what you need.
1. Books
Maybe my favorite overall. I read writers I love and then I steal from them, analyze their writing, get inspired by their greatness. Fiction is my favorite, but I’ll devour anything. If you normally read just a couple of your favorite authors, try branching out into something different. You just might find new inspiration.
2. Movies
Sometimes, while watching a movie, a character will say something so interesting that I’ll say, “That would make a great blog post!” or “I have to write that in my writing journal!” Sometimes screenwriters can write beautiful dialog. Other times I get inspired by the story itself.
3. Friends.
Conversations with my friends, in real life, or on the phone, have inspired some of my best posts. They stir up my ideas, contribute ideas of their own, and they fuse into something even more brilliant than either of us could have created.
4. Quotes
I don’t know why it’s so, but great quotes help inspire me. I like to go to various quote sites to find ideas to spark my writing, turns of phrase that show what can be done with the language, motivation for self-improvement. There are plenty of websites made just for writers.
5. Nature
Stuck for ideas? Go for a walk or a jog. Get away from sidewalks and into grass and trees and fields and hills. Appreciate the beauty around you, and let the inspiration flow through you. Sunsets and sunrises, of course, are two of my favorite uplifting scenes of nature, and anything involving water is also awesome (oceans, rivers, lakes, rain, rivulets, even puddles).
6. Religion
Many of you aren’t religious (and many are) but it doesn’t matter much — the great religions in the world have ideas in them that are beautiful and inspiring. I’ve studied some of the writings of not only Christianity and Judaism but Islam, Bahai’i, Buddhism, Taoism, and many cultures with multiple nature gods. I can’t say I’m an expert at any of these religions, but I can say that any time I’ve spent reading the ideas of religion have paid off for me in inspiration.
7. Dreams
I’m not very good at this, but at times in my life I’ve tried keeping a dream journal by my bedside and writing down what I can remember when I wake up. Not because I think it’ll tell me something about myself or my future or past, but because dreams are so interesting in their complete disregard for the rules of reality, for their otherworldness and plot twists.
8. Freewriting
Like I was saying earlier, this is what I do when I'm stuck. It's one of the best ways to get unstuck if you’re uninspired. Just start writing. Anything. It doesn’t matter. Don’t edit, don’t pause, don’t think. Just write and let it flow. You’ll end up with a lot of garbage, probably, but it’ll help you get out of your rut and you might just write some really good stuff among all that garbage.
9. Brainstorming
Similar to freewriting, but instead of writing prose you’re writing ideas. Just let them flow. Speed and quantity is more important than quality. Within this brainstorm of ideas, you’ll most likely find a few nuggets of greatness. One of my favorite ways to get ideas, and this method is how I got the idea for my novel, The Days After.
10. People-Watching
This is an interesting activity for any writer. Go to a busy public place and just sit and watch people. They’ll amuse you, inspire you, fascinate you. There’s nothing more inspiring than humanity.
I think 10 is a nice, solid number to stop at. I hope you all find this post useful to you and you writing. And just remember, once you've got your golden idea, don't marvel at it for too long. Take it, and get to work on it. There will be plenty of time to pat yourself on the back when you've finished. Happy writing all, and I'll see you tomorrow.
Buh-bye.
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