Today, for their Road Trip Wednesday question for bloggers, YA Highway asked: When you need creative inspiration, where do you go?
A few of my blogging friends already have great answers to this one, so shout outs to Elodie, Robin and Colin.
Here’s my top 5 places to get ideas:
- The shower. Something about standing in the shower actives all kinds of idea-making abilities. Scenes suddenly click and come to life, and I then have to spend the whole shower trying to remember them until I can find a notepad and write them down.
- The night. I’m a night owl, doing most of my work at night, and if writer’s block s running on high there’s no better cure than going out to see a bit of the outside world in the evening. Stars, sea and sand… along with a healthy dose of fresh air. Works wonders.
- Music. I use music as a stepping stone to active the right ‘moods’. If I need anger, bitterness, hope or desperation I’ve got a track kicking around somewhere to get me in the right headspace. Or if I’m stuck music makes the perfect brainstorm tool — I just listen to random songs and think about the stories behind them.
- Working on something else. If I get stuck with one project, I’ll jump to another to take a breather. Sometimes this just means jumping from one book-in-progress to another, but other days this might mean blogging, sketching, painting, or just doing housework.
- Other creative works. Books, video games, TV shows, movies… all of this feeds into my creativity, and sometimes when my ideas are running low I just need a dose of other people’s creativity to reignite that spark. And even just giving my brain some mindless downtime with a TV series or game allows it to keep ticking over problems and work them out in the background.
Thanks for the shout out, Emma! I know a lot of people will envy you living in the Scottish Highlands, and being able to find inspirational scenery on your doorstep. :) This is a good list. I would agree that music can help set a mood. I can’t use music while I write, but I can certainly find thematic, or mood-setting songs that help get me in the right frame of mind prior to writing.
Heh. I’m happy for them to envy my lovely surroundings, because I don’t think they’ll be envious of my terrible local broadband speed/shopping options/employment choices. Rural life has it’s up and downsides. :)
I cant listen to music while I write either (getting deja vu, I think we’ve discussed this before), but I use it as a brainstorming tool in situations where I can’t write. Walking, commuting etc.
It seems whenever I hit a block in one work and start working on another, the creative juices start flowing for the one I’m not working on! Infuriating, but a trick that sometimes works in my favour.
Yeah, it works a charm. :D
The shower is definitely a big one. A character told me his entire backstory while I was in the shower once. I’d been trying to figure it out for days. I get really inspired to write during thunderstorms. I’m not sure why, but there’s nothing better for my motivation than rain pouring down and thunder rumbling.
Oooh, thunderstorms do create a great atmosphere! We don’t get them often but they’re wonderful when they arrive. Rain can be helpful too… which is a good thing, because we get bucketloads of that.
The shower is my number one spot, too – and rainstorms – why didn’t I think of that while writing my post?! :D
…You appear to have stepped into my head and do all the things I do. Kindly remove yourself.
;)
Hahaha. xD
Oh, video games … man, I miss World of Warcraft BAD!
I used to be a night owl, but had to change that habits after my daughter was born. She sleeps all night, but she wakes up very early and already with her batteries on high! lol
To me, it’s books and music … and I have to write listening to something ;)
Thanks for the shout out! I love Scotland’s scenery, especially in St Andrews. I kept going there for hols with the family for a couple of years and it was beautiful! I’ve usually been quite active at night where I want to write and the inspiration has hit me but unfortunately my eyes are also rebelling and trying to close. Music is a big inspiration for me too. One song could create a character, scene, or story but I can get too distracted playing it while I write.
Oooh, I forgot about the night time. My night inspiration isn’t usually intentional — it’s usually at fault for not letting me sleep. But, it’s true that there’s something about the night that can bring out the best ideas!
Great answer! I think I have many of the same in mine too. :) Can I just say, if I lived where you do I would probably have all the inspiration I need. My husband and I were both up that way in May and a story idea started brewing while on our trip. Such beautiful country and so much inspiration!
Great post. I’ve also had some of my best ideas in the shower.
Thanks for sharing!
Shower for sure. I also love a good thunderstorm – definitely my favorite writing weather! Great list!
Ditto on all of those! And I listen to music while in the shower so it’s like a double-dose!
I like your list and agree with all of them! Especially the shower. Seriously, I’m not sure what it is, but once water gets hot, it magically assumes all these healing powers. And doing some non-verbal creating is always helpful for me–playing the piano, baking, refinishing furniture are my favorites. I’m still harnessing that creative energy, but my mind gets a break from all the words bouncing around.