3 Easy-To-Get Sources For Your Writing Inspiration
When you feel like you’re not inspired to write, do these 3 things
Are you someone who constantly has ideas flowing out of their heads and onto the keyboard? Or are you someone who gets those moments fleetingly and require constant inspiration to be able to write? Or maybe you’re in between. You’re someone who has moments where the words just won’t stop flowing but at the same time, suffer from writers’ block every now and then.
The majority of writers that I know fall into the last category. They would have a period where they are so inspired, spending hours a day writing easily between 5,000 to 10,000 words daily. Then they would go days without an ounce of inspiration and barely writing a single word. If this sounds familiar, welcome to the club as I’m sure we would have all gone through moments like this every now and then.
But as a writer, it can get really frustrating because we want to write. We want to write every single day. And it’s not just for the sake of writing. When we write, we want to write well, we want to write good content for our readers. If we’re not inspired, it’s pretty hard to do that.
So, what can be done when we’re in a situation where we feel so uninspired to write anything? Well, we look for inspiration. We look to be inspired. Here are 3 sources of inspiration that you can draw from.
Books
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve felt like writing after putting down a book that I’ve been reading. Needless to say, the stimulation your brain gets when reading a book doesn’t just get you to thinking, it gets your creative juices to start flowing as well.
Sometimes, all you really need to start a writing process is to start a thinking process first. And what better way to do that than by reading books?
Chances are, you probably have a few books lying around your house that you bought a long time ago because you wanted to read them but you never got around to doing so. Well, now’s the best time for you to pick them up and start reading. You won’t just get to do what you originally wanted to do when you bought the books, but you may just put yourself on a path where you may eventually write your own book(s).
So pick up that book that you’ve had for a long time and start reading. It may just lead to the best writing you’ve ever done.
Movies
With the current pandemic situation the world has found itself in, we suddenly find ourselves with a bit more time than we usually would have. If you’re like me, you would have been working from home for the past 8 weeks now. Despite still working, I actually have a good couple of hours extra a day because I don’t have to travel to my office which usually takes up about 2 hours of my time each day.
What can you do with that extra 2 hours? You can finish watching a movie, that’s what. Most movies now days are between the 90 minutes to 120 minutes mark. Occasionally, you’ll get some that are as long as 180 minutes but an average movie lasts about 120 minutes which is 2 hours.
I find movies a great source for inspiration as well. It may not necessarily just be for writing but more often than not when I watch a good movie and I really enjoy the plot, I think about the process of the writers behind it. Where did they get the inspiration and the ideas to write such a plot? What were their inspirations? And that thought process often gets me inspired to write something of my own.
Movies that really move you will get you inspired to do something and if you’re a writer, most of the time they will inspire you to write.
Writers
What better way to be inspired to write than by writers themselves? Usually, when we look for inspiration to do something, we look at those who are already doing it. For example, when I feel like I need the inspiration to put in a workout, I’ll check out my favourite fitness personalities’ Instagram page. I’d look at the workouts that they’re currently doing, the shape that they’re currently in and I’ll tell myself, I need to get my body moving if I want to get it into the shape and condition that I dream of.
It’s the same for when I need the inspiration to practice playing the guitar. I’d listen or watch YouTube videos of my favourite guitarists shredding down the neck of their PRSs or Gibsons and nailing every single chord or solo that they’re playing. That would get me pumped up to start playing as well.
So when it comes to writing, why not apply the same method? Look up your favourite writers, look at what they’re currently doing. Chances are, you’ve read most (if not all) of their books by now. You know their style, their genre, maybe even their writing routine. See what they do that makes them the great writer that they are. Follow what they do and tweak it to suit you. Tweak it so that it works well for you. Or if what they do is exactly what works for you, then just follow that. Do what they do to get the inspiration that you need to write and to write well. If your heroes or the people you look up to can’t inspire you, then nothing will.
There are so many ways to get inspired to write. The above are just some examples that are easily accessible to you right now. But if you don’t feel like doing any of the above, you can always try something else like taking a stroll along the park or by the beach. Sometimes a little alone time by yourself can help to spark that creative that you need. Or you could go for a drive, grab some food to eat on the way and just drive around to clear your head. That can work too.
At the end of the day, you will have to do what works best for you and usually, you would already know what sparks your inspiration. Do that and you may just find the words flowing out of you with ease.