15 Proven Ways To Find Inspiration For Your Writing
Writing is a form of creative work, and creative work is probably more interesting than any other, but at the same time much more challenging. If you earn money with the help of your talents, you cannot allow sitting and waiting for inspiration to come: this way you could run out of money very quickly. Therefore, inspiration still matters: without it, a creative work turns into a dull and boring task (which often affects the outcome).
That’s why all professional creators; be it artists, writers, musicians, and so on, have to find a way to inspire themselves “on demand”. Experienced creators already have a list of ways to find their own inspiration, and it’s always good to learn from the best. Moreover, even if you already have your own list, you can expand it when you find something suitable for you.
So here are 15 proven ways that can help boost your writing inspiration:
1. Find someone who inspires you
It’s good to have an inspirational figure or even a few. Writers can use other writers, bloggers, and journalists as a source of inspiration. Just reread their works when you feel stuck and try to come up with something as good.
2. Don’t forget about the media
We all know that a good writer has to read more. But I would say that a good writer has to not only read more books, but watch more movies and listen to music too. Maybe some details, lines or lyrics will inspire you to create something completely different but just as amazing.
3. Go outside
If you spend most of your time stuck at home, you simply have to go outside sometimes to find your inspiration. The same surroundings can bore anyone to death and are hardly inspiring at all. However, simply having a walk is not enough: you have to observe, notice even the smallest details, and enjoy every minute of it.
4. Talk to someone
If you feel stuck and unable to produce even a sentence, discuss it with someone. When you talk, you formulate your thoughts and fears — and that’s what helps fighting them and overcoming the writer’s block. Moreover, another person can suggest a bright idea or a few.
5. Find a special place for inspiration
A writer has to understand how people behave and talk in order to make their writing as realistic as possible. However to do so, they have to focus on people and observe their behaviour. One of the most interesting and inspiring ways to do this is by finding a certain place (be it a café, a park, a coworking space, etc.) and spending some time there, looking at the people around and noticing every detail.
6. Meditate
It might seem strange and not related to inspiration at all. However, meditation helps us become more mindful and feel everything deeper. You can start with meditating for only 10 minutes a day — and you’ll be surprised with the results.
7. Play a game
Yes, I’m talking about computer and mobile games here. Playing them allows you to clear your head a bit and to distract yourself from the thoughts you’re having at the moment. And who knows, maybe when you get distracted, new ideas will appear?
8. Choose the right music
Sometimes even our favourite music can distract us from writing: maybe it’s simply too energetic, or too familiar, or has lyrics, etc. In this case, you can try switching to something different: for example, to one of the many inspirational playlists available on websites like 8tracks. Such playlists usually include instrumental music that’s not much of a distraction and at the same time can be inspirational.
9. Do something new
A writer has to be very experienced to be able to write about different things well. That’s why it’s always good to try learning something new, be it some kind of foreign traditional recipes or martial arts. Maybe this will inspire you to write a book about a cook or a fighter, for example!
10. Go to bed
Sometimes we just can’t stop thinking about something and it doesn’t lead us anywhere. Going to bed could be a great solution in this case: you rest, you forget unpleasant thoughts, and wake up next morning fresh and able to think more clearly.
11. Spend some time with your friends or family
People who are closest to us can inspire us the most. They support us, make us happier, and help us focus on pleasant things. Moreover, they can be a great source for quotes, jokes, and personal traits that you can use for your characters.
12. Travel
Not the easiest and the cheapest way but definitely one of the most inspiring ones. The farther you travel, the better: it’s hard not to get inspired when you get to meet new people, learn more about foreign cultures and explore beautiful places.
13. Create a mind map
If you don’t have any clear idea about what to write, but already have some associations in mind, use a mind map to help you. It’s actually one of the best tools for structuring your thoughts. For example, you can start by writing all your associations and trying to come up with a plot that can tie them all together.
14. Use your memories
We all have so many stories about our lives. Some of them are funny, some of them are sad, but each one can be used as a source of inspiration for writing. You can use such story as an example if you’re writing a blog article, or even make it a part of your book.
15. Sit and write
That’s an unusual advice and not everyone can use it. For some of us inspiration is crucial: we simply cannot sit and write without it. However, for some of us it works differently: inspiration can come in process, but you need to actually start writing for it to appear. Maybe this could work for you too! All you need to do to figure this out is to try.
As you see, there are so many ways to help you find your inspiration. I hope they will help you!
Author Bio:
With a background in education and entrepreneurship, Jake Lester currently writes for the educational blogging project BeforeWriting. Jake writes for many blogs and gives useful advices for entrepreneurs, students and educators. He likes to cover stories in productivity, careers and education.
Very inspiring