Ayn Rand once said, “A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.” You should think of creative writing in this way too. It’s such a subjective pursuit it’s impossible to become the best and beat others. No matter how successful you become, you’ll never convince everyone.
With that in mind, you’ve probably come across a time where you’ve struggled to find inspiration. Whether it’s writing a UK essay or sat in front of the first blank page of what will become your new novel, it can completely deter you from writing. Here are 10 sources of inspiration for creative writing.
1. Love What You Do
We enjoy what we’re good at and we’re good at what we enjoy. If you don’t love writing, there’s no reason you’ll ever create something worthy of reading. The top British essays were concocted by writers who loved their subjects. Love what you do and think about the joy it brings you.
Be confident in yourself as a writer and you’ll soon find yourself picking pieces of inspiration from the most mundane parts of life.
2. Read!
There’s no substitute for reading. Whilst fewer people read in the 21st century world of technology, it’s still essential. Films, short videos, and the spoken word are no substitute for looking at an author’s work in the flesh.
Just from looking at the way an author writes, you can come up with twists on their work and gradually transition into an entirely new creation.
3. Communicate with the Creative
Collaboration can replenish your creative well. When you’ve run out of ideas, talk to someone who’s just as enthusiastic as you. They have different views and perspectives. Listen to how they look at a specific subject. Try to view something from as many different angles as possible. It’s why people opt for writing services as it gives them access to the approaches of another writer.
4. Nature
If you’re like most writers, you spend most of your time in urban areas. Leave your current surroundings and go into the countryside. Taking a look at the simple things in life adds to our creative processes. Beautiful landscapes are an old inspirational favourite, but go further. Watch the insects crawling along plants and listen to the birds. The sights, sounds, and smells of nature are a powerful source of inspiration.
5. Try Something New
Experience is our greatest teacher. Trying something new gives us a new experience. In creative writing, most writers infuse little pieces of personal experience into their work. Although there’s the occasional writer who can sit in a room and come up with an engaging and thought provoking world, most of us must use what we have experienced, during editing or proofreading works, writer can add his experience in order to describe all feeling and emotions of the moment.
It doesn’t have to be any sort of extreme sport. Find something you’ve never done before and give it a spin.
6. Think Backwards
Think back to your earliest memories. They are filled with the rawest emotions in your mind. By replaying these emotions again you’re better able to apply them to your work. The best essays gain such positive feedback because writers can make readers think. And readers think due to the writing’s ability to touch their emotions.
You might find this process very cathartic, or even traumatic, but it’s all for the good of your work.
7. Spend Time with Children
Children have an entirely different mindset. It’s something we can’t go back to, even if we try. Some would say they have the purest minds of us all. Spend some time with a young relative and observe them. Watch how they approach the adult world and gain some inspiration from the way they interact with people and objects. It might even cause some of your long-lost childhood memories to come flooding back.
8. Listen to Music
Too often we have a speaker shoved in our ears whilst we go about our daily business. It’s rare that we take the time to indulge in the tones and the notes of the music. Music is a powerful trigger in the mind. Whenever we listen to a track from our childhood, the memories associated with the music return as if it all happened yesterday.
Try to listen to different genres of music. Every type of track has something to offer you, even if you don’t really like what you’re listening to.
It’s exactly why films constantly opt for music tracks throughout crucial scenes. This evokes additional feeling and somehow helps us to sympathise with the character on-screen.
9. Stranger Talk
The creative writer is a magnet for experience. The more experiences they take in the more colourful their work becomes. Whilst our friends are always useful for a chat, they don’t always provide something fresh we can use. If your close friends have become stale (creatively speaking), try talking to a stranger. You can gain new perspectives and information about experiences you never knew existed.
Sign up for an online chat room and begin meeting people. If you prefer to speak to others in person, join a club or community group in your local area.
10. Be Creative Elsewhere
There’s no single part of the brain singularly dedicated to the art of creative writing. Our creative bank vaults are filled with ability to apply our skills to anything in a similar field. A great writer could easily become a great chef, if they put their minds to it.
Try something different. Drawing, painting, cooking, landscape gardening, and flower arranging are just some of the things which can offer that next creative spark.
As you can see, you don’t have to live an extraordinary life to find sources of inspiration. They are all around us. By just making a few changes to our lives, we can continue to create fresh and invigorating pieces of work. Just like any muscle, the creative mind needs regular nourishment and exercise. Keep searching for inspiration and your work will continually get better.
