Hey, guys!
And a special hello to my writer homies . . . I thought I would sound cool by saying homies, but I was wrong. Oh, well.
Anyway, I was thinking of when I was in high school and taking a course in creative writing and how much fun it was. Especially all the writing exercises we did during class. Creative Writing really helped me as a writer and helped me find ways to inspire myself when thinking of a new short story to write.
So, I thought that I would dedicate a blog post to helping writers like me find new ways to inspire their writing. In list form, of course.
1) Observation.
This sounds a little obvious, but I don't think we even realize how much of our writing is the result of what we see and experience. So, a good way to get the creative juices to flow is by going out and observing. People watch. Star-gaze. Take a walk through a garden or a forest trail. Take a load off and look at the clouds and try to find cool shapes. Go bird-watching. The options are endless.
Not only will you find cool stuff to write about, but doing idle activities like looking at clouds and birds and stars is a good way to quiet your mind of all the worries of the mortal world. This is good because it encourages the creative side of your brain to get chatty. You start to daydream and contemplate the wonders of the universe and the principles of human nature. That's where the inspiration comes from.
2) Imagery.
A huge part of writing is painting a picture and describing the scene. A good way to get into the writing mood is by looking at art. Paintings, drawings, photography, sculptures. Again, the list is infinite. If you're at a gallery or a museum, look at it from a character's perspective: what are they thinking of when they see the artwork?
But this doesn't mean you have to pay admission to go to an art museum/gallery. Instead, look through old photo albums, find a picture or two that speaks to you and start writing by describing what's going on in the picture. You could also do this with postcards, pictures from magazines and newspapers, or the pictures on the covers of music albums. Whatever floats your boat.
3) Words.
Again, this sounds obvious. But play with words. By that, I don't mean scramble up letters and invent new words (but if that's your cup of tea, go crazy). If you've ever seen a magnetic poetry kit, play around with that, use it as inspiration for a poem. But then again, I've tried looking for such a magnetic poetry kit, and I've yet to find one that isn't themed. Plus, those cost money.
But you can always have fun without a magnetic poetry kit. Flip through the dictionary, the newspaper, a magazine, anything with words and write down any that catch your eye. This might sound boring, but trust me, if you're a true blue writer, this is just about the most fun you could have. Write down the words you don't know or the words that sound beautiful or awesome. Arrange them into a poem. Try to use as many of those in a scene for a short story. Go nuts.
There is much fun to be had in the way of inspiring yourselves, young grasshoppers. So go out there and start writing! Follow my recommendations or go out and find your own way to inspire yourself: music, art, food, books, whatever gets your fire going.
Hope this helped, guys. I know it helped me just by writing it, because it makes me want to tote my notebook/journal around wherever I go and find inspiration everywhere. Because inspiration is everywhere. So go and find it and make it yours.
Happy writing!!
And a special hello to my writer homies . . . I thought I would sound cool by saying homies, but I was wrong. Oh, well.
Anyway, I was thinking of when I was in high school and taking a course in creative writing and how much fun it was. Especially all the writing exercises we did during class. Creative Writing really helped me as a writer and helped me find ways to inspire myself when thinking of a new short story to write.
So, I thought that I would dedicate a blog post to helping writers like me find new ways to inspire their writing. In list form, of course.
1) Observation.
This sounds a little obvious, but I don't think we even realize how much of our writing is the result of what we see and experience. So, a good way to get the creative juices to flow is by going out and observing. People watch. Star-gaze. Take a walk through a garden or a forest trail. Take a load off and look at the clouds and try to find cool shapes. Go bird-watching. The options are endless.
Not only will you find cool stuff to write about, but doing idle activities like looking at clouds and birds and stars is a good way to quiet your mind of all the worries of the mortal world. This is good because it encourages the creative side of your brain to get chatty. You start to daydream and contemplate the wonders of the universe and the principles of human nature. That's where the inspiration comes from.
2) Imagery.
A huge part of writing is painting a picture and describing the scene. A good way to get into the writing mood is by looking at art. Paintings, drawings, photography, sculptures. Again, the list is infinite. If you're at a gallery or a museum, look at it from a character's perspective: what are they thinking of when they see the artwork?
But this doesn't mean you have to pay admission to go to an art museum/gallery. Instead, look through old photo albums, find a picture or two that speaks to you and start writing by describing what's going on in the picture. You could also do this with postcards, pictures from magazines and newspapers, or the pictures on the covers of music albums. Whatever floats your boat.
3) Words.
Again, this sounds obvious. But play with words. By that, I don't mean scramble up letters and invent new words (but if that's your cup of tea, go crazy). If you've ever seen a magnetic poetry kit, play around with that, use it as inspiration for a poem. But then again, I've tried looking for such a magnetic poetry kit, and I've yet to find one that isn't themed. Plus, those cost money.
But you can always have fun without a magnetic poetry kit. Flip through the dictionary, the newspaper, a magazine, anything with words and write down any that catch your eye. This might sound boring, but trust me, if you're a true blue writer, this is just about the most fun you could have. Write down the words you don't know or the words that sound beautiful or awesome. Arrange them into a poem. Try to use as many of those in a scene for a short story. Go nuts.
There is much fun to be had in the way of inspiring yourselves, young grasshoppers. So go out there and start writing! Follow my recommendations or go out and find your own way to inspire yourself: music, art, food, books, whatever gets your fire going.
Hope this helped, guys. I know it helped me just by writing it, because it makes me want to tote my notebook/journal around wherever I go and find inspiration everywhere. Because inspiration is everywhere. So go and find it and make it yours.
Happy writing!!
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