Where I Found Inspiration
As writers, we spend quite a bit of time alone. Or at least if not alone, then buried in our heads. Writing is a solitary endeavor. Even if writers have a support system (like us), the bulk of our writerly activities occur while we’re alone with our keyboards/pad of paper.
So, what keeps the creative juices juicy while we tap away towards our goal?
I’ve had a couple weeks of blah writing. I got to a point in my story where I started to question my hero’s GMC and then I had to go back and make sure it was what I wanted it to be. After that, I couldn’t seem to get started again. So, I wrote my synopsis (rewrote?) and I puttered with the first chapter or two. Just, blah, though. All that stuff isn’t making real headway. It just made me feel like I was pacing, tracking the same trail over and over, suffocating anything alive and vibrant under my heels.
Then, this past weekend my friend and I went to the shore to find a beach house for our vacation this summer. The whole ride down we chatted and I watched the scenery shift from tall, piney trees to the shorter, sandier versions around the shoreline. It was a dreary day, not full scale rain but that mist that just lingers in the air and presses in on you. Neither of us brought rain gear so the chilly wet stuck to our clothes and our hair curled up around our faces.
The real estate agent handed me a whole wad of keys and we traipsed up and down the island, wandering in and out of house after house. And suddenly, my brain opened up again. All those different houses. Some houses were older, decorated from styles popular twenty years ago. Others were newly renovated with granite countertops and sleek contemporary furniture. I started picturing the owners. The family who’d owned the older house for the last two decades and who couldn’t afford to update their property but they couldn’t bear to sell the house because of the memories they had there. The chic couple from New York City who boasted about owning beachfront real estate but whose hectic work schedules barely left them time to visit it.
New images swirled in my head.
The weather is nicer here this week and my son has discovered the joy of going down the slide at the park. The past two days he’s brought me his shoes and said “walk” and “park” or “swing.” And the park’s a great place to people watch and find inspiration. The dad in his work uniform, pushing his son on the swing. Maybe he’s divorced and has his son for the night. The mom with the baby in the front carrier with her hair askew who is chasing the toddler around the jungle gym. Maybe she’s struggling with post-partum.
All kinds of conflicts, all kinds of stories.
Maybe I won’t use them, maybe I will. Who knows? But it’s helped replenish my dwindling coffers of creativity. I’ll take it where I can get it.
What do you do when you need inspiration? What gets your juices going again?
Books by the Crew
56 comments:
I get inspiration from all sorts of places. Recently, I discovered a picture I'd taken several months ago... My DH and I were heading home along the bay, near sunset and cold breeze blowing. I spotted two tall ships out on the bay!
We hurried to a place along the beach and took some pictures. I found one of those pictures in my camera a few days ago. The ship, against a driftwood sculpture, silhoutette. Perfect!
I need something for a lady pirate story submission... I don't know exactly where I'm going with it. But there also a figure next to the sculpture. I don't remember anyone being there, but there he/she is...
It's going to start with her marooned...watching her ship sail away? Or maybe rescue...
Hope you find your dream beach house Marnee!
Like you I think inspiration is all around us, its part of life. You just have to look for it.
If I was writing mediaevals I think I would spend time at historical sights. There are many in the UK. I could walk on Hadrian's wall, imagining myself as a Roman sentry looking out for the Scottish barbarians. I could stroll through Stone Henge and wonder at the ingenuity of those 'primitive' people. I could visit the grave of King Canute's daughter (Bosham church), then sit listening to the tinkle of moored yachts, thinking of Frances Chichester sailing the world. The list is endless.
Or for contemps I would visit London with all the museums, art galleries, concert halls, Great Churches, Royal Palaces....
As Johnson said "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life"
No, no-one can use 'lack of inspiration' as an excuse for not writing *grin*
Beach house! How nice..
Inspiration... I get it from everywhere and anywhere I can. Art, research, the great unknown in my head. Plotting with my bestest CP evah, Ely. We've been known to chat for half a day on yim to plot and sort out probs in our wips, to discuss new stories, an anything else writing related.
I've been known to get really stuck a time or two in the middle of writing a book. That's usually when I go on a book binge. Devouring all those books in my TBR that are must reads now. It always Peter's out and I go back pretty strong and refreshed into my writing.
Marnee, congratulations on finding inspiration. As much as we writers are creative and dedicated, sometimes that is the hardest part. I do that a lot more myself, just watch people and see what I can come up with for them. It's a lot of fun.
Chance - I love the idea of taking a picture of something that inspires you! I've just recently started to carry my camera with me (DS is getting so big so fast, I want it close). But I hadn't thought to use it for my writing. Great idea!
And I hope you come up with something for your lady pirate. I'm sure you will. :)
Q - We found the house we're going to share for the week. It's wonderful; just steps from the shoreline. And I agree, that we just need to open ourselves up for inspiration, that it's there around us. :) PS, I would love to make it to London. I haven't been yet, but I keep insisting to the DH that when kids are old enough not to harrass an entire plane on the trip over, we're going to go.
Tiff - Ah, talks with the CPs, what a great way to get the juices going. And thank goodness for IM, because harrassing them gets so much easier that way. :) I also read a lot to get myself going. Great tips. I do have a few books left on my TBR, maybe I'll hit that up too.
JK - I love people watching! I think I always have. THe park, the playground when I was young. The mall, what great food for thought! :)
Q, I've always wanted to see Hadrian's wall. I love Roman history. I'm still trying to talk the Mister into naming a kid Roman.
And I'd love to see Stonehenge. And find some good fish and chips. And drink in a London pub. And wander around seeing all the sights.
It's on my list of things I must do before I croak.
Well we found out yesterday that everything I usually do, isn't working. Even going down to the trail for a run in the fresh air doesn't. I'm at a loss. I think a weekend at the beach would be superb; but I'd spend the whole weekend trying to get there. Not to mention trying to get back. LOL
Good luck on the beach house Marn!
Great blog, Marn! In exactly six weeks, Hellie and I and my Kiddo will be hanging in a cute little cottage right on the beach in the Outer Banks. I can't wait!!! Will we find inspiration? No idea. Will we laugh and sleep? You betcha. LOL!
I think I'm the opposite of everyone else, for a writer I spend less time in my head. So to get into writing, I have to get back in there. I swear I go through my days clueless, things fly right by me. But hanging with this virtual writing community has shifted my thinking and the brain more naturally goes to stories out of pictures or captured moments.
Sin - I think our trips to England sound the same. My mom is going next week. But she said she didn't want to see Stonehenge. I was all, MOM, how awesome is that, though!? And she was like, it's rocks, baby. She just doesn't get the possibility for stories and the mystique. She's the math loving side of my family.
I hope you find what inspires you soon, dearest. Let me know if you need someone to chat with, k?
Ter - I bet you guys are going to have a total blast! :) That sounds like so much fun.
And you find inspiration here with us? Awesome....
I can't believe you'd go to England and not see Stonehenge. I want to just go and wander around. But that requires a passport and I'm not in possession of one at the moment.
I walk around clueless half the time too. If I pay attention, I can find inspiration, it's just a matter of remembering too :) But we're going on vacation in 16 days (woo hoo!) so I'm sure I'll find inspiration there.
I find that a lot of times, what people say inspires me. Someone will make some off the wall comment, and *boom*. My mind takes off, and then I totally forget I was talking to someone and wander off to write *g*.
Hal - You too?! That's makes me feel a little better. :)
There are times my desire to travel to the UK is so strong I can taste it. I've heard people say some places just call to you so that must be my place. My grandmother was born there but never talked about it. I wish so much I could go back and ask her questions and hear about her childhood there. I guess that could be the reason for my fascination.
oh god, definitely me too. I'm constantly being made fun of my utter and complete inability to pay attention to anything happening around me. The hubs calls it "the zone" and has finally stopped waving his hand in front of my face :)
Sin, I don't have a passport yet either. And I think she's crazy too. :)
Hal - Sometimes people talk and I get inspired too. It depends. Though most of the conversations I have right now are with a 2 year old. He's not that profound yes. Though he is starting to use full sentences. ("Mommy go pee pee?" Yep, inspiring I know.)
Where you going on vacay?
Ter - I feel the same about Ireland. It calls to me, though I haven't been yet. But I think England as well. I really can't wait to go. :)
The worst is when I have delayed reactions. Like those times you realize hours later that you didn't thank someone. Or you recognize a missed opportunity that was so obvious. I blame it on having too much going at one time. LOL! Focus! I lack focus!
Ter - I do the same thing! LOL! Those "duh!" moments hours later. I lack focus as well. I was always the kid in trouble at school for daydreaming out the window instead of listening :)
Marn - Bahamas, baby. Beaches, drinks, clubs, drinks, pools, beaches, drinks.....I can't wait! A whole week. I think I'm going to take the laptop, in case I get really inspired, but I have no plans to write.
And uh, yeah, I can see how potty-training would less than inspiring ;)
Marnee - Just rocks, baby?
Oh, wow. But that's like me and museums... "Just paint on canvas, sis..." (She be museum crazy...)
Give me an ancient pile a' rocks anyday! I'll go fer nature's beauty over just about anythin'.
Or ancient rocks.
OK, the roof a' the Cistene Chaple were awesome. (And yes, I know I spelled it wrong. don't feel like flittin' away ta another site so I spell it right... One a' those morns, so don't make a fuss out a' it!)
I *cannot* wait for our little beachfront adventure, Terr! I can almost smell the sea air now. I'm so excited that I'm almost looking forward to locating a bathing suit that fits. *LOL*
Almost.
Perversely, one of the ways I can "fill my coffers" is to be depressed. *LOL* Especially if I'm depressed about my love life. It's a fine line, let me emphasize, because it's hard to write all those sappy words without snorting when you're miserable. But at the same time, when you're so miserable and you're writing that story, it's almost like you're writing something to the Universe that says, "I still believe and this is how it could happen."
However, being in a perpetual state of depression so I can be a prolific romance writer seems, well, at odds.
I think if I do something *DIFFERENT* it helps fill up the coffers; and I'm so guilty about not doing that. I *like* hanging out in my little place, in peace and quiet, and I *like* not socializing--and yet I get some of my best ideas or stuff when I do something else, anything else. Take a different route on the drive home; shop at a store I wouldn't go into; hang out and eat at a place with a friend--just because--and just try something new on the menu even.
I think in the way you can get into ruts with your writing, where you're not pushing the envelope and taking risks, when you start living your life like that--because you're too busy, too "concerned about the economy" and too...content to do the same thing because you'd rather be quiet than be "living", that's when writing gets to be the hardest.
It's a balance though. I mean, in order to write, you have to have your butt in the chair and the hands on the keyboard. Dining out every night when you're a struggling writer isn't something any of us can do. Still--I think we need to take at least one time a week to break out from our routine of family, gym, work, laundry, dishes, 5-minute showers, and for me, the library--and just go do something else. For god's sake, ANYTHING else. Preferably not writing related or book related--step away from the bookstore, you bookworm geek, you're an Amazon.com whore anyway...
Wow! Captain's had her coffee today. LOL! Something different makes a huge difference. I think it's the challenge and stepping outside our comfort zones. I'm still not sure about this coaching thing, but I have this unexplainable excitement about it. We could get creamed every game, but somehow that doesn't matter right now. I love the sport I'm coaching and I love to be the leader in things. Hard-wiring I doubt I could change.
Hopefully, all I have all kinds of inspiration by the time the experience is over. I know I've already had several short story ideas come to me.
You'd never know I'm literate from that last bit, would you? LOL!
I forgot to say writing the story how we wish it would have gone or how we want things to really go in the future is probably where all my writing comes from. And why I prefer to write Romance instead of anything else. Who doesn't want things to end well?!
Wow hells - nice! amazon.com whore - snort. I think you're absolutely right about routines. We went to New York last weekend, just for the evening, saw a show (Phantom of the Opera - woo!), crammed ourselves on and off of trains, and ate pizza shoe-horned into a pizza joint the size of a...well, shoe box. I came back bursting with ideas, not having anything to do with the weekend, but just because it'd been something different and exciting.
BTW - I hope you're not expecting WARM water in May. LOL! Even in July the waters up here are COLD. LOL! But you're welcome to put the suit on and jump in. Kiddo and I will watch. :)
Hal - It sounds so fun to say we went into NY and caught a show and some pizza. That sounds like a wonderful day!
Ter - it was great. The hubby hates NY (really, really hates the city), but he even had enough fun that I overheard him saying we might have to do again (which is impressive, as it took me 4 years to talk him into it this time *g*)
Um, if I got to go to England, Stonehenge would not be on my list of must sees before my tour was over. I mean, if I got to see it on the way from one place to another, fine, but I don't want it really enroaching on what I actually want to see: a bunch of dead writers' houses. And some castles. And if I can stray across the border and see Stirling and Falkirk, awesome, and okay, Edinburgh so I can flit around locations where Harry Potter might have been inspired and written.
Oh, for God's sake, Terr, you're so cold-natured (not in personality, just in temp) you have a heater under your desk. I better be able to play in some water, damnit. I'm so sick of going to the ocean and being told, "Gosh, it's cold this time of year." (Always spoken by the native, without any thought to the landlocked ocean-deprived lunatic who could give a shit.)
Usually just the advent of spring is enough to inspire me, but we keep having all these gray, rainy days that leave me in the doldrums. I'm ready for walks in the park and sitting on the riverbank and driving through the country with the top down. Instead I'm inside listening to the rain and the thunder. And now the forecast says freezing temperatures again next week. UGH!
I do get ideas from people watching and from eavesdropping and from music, but none of these is working today. I'm writing about the Great Depression, and I am greatly depressed. :(
Hellie - I thought you were talking to me directly with that whole amazon whore bit at the end. LOL!!
I think you're right, that stepping outside the norm at least once a week can be enough to rev up the imagination.
I've been amazed at how much inspiration I've found doing things with my kiddo. Something about the way he views the world has been extremely inspiring to me. Very straightforward, very direct. 2 year olds don't think about how they "should" perceive the world; they just react. It's been fascinating.
And I think you should swim in the ocean in May, Hells. Dance like no one's watching, that sort of thing.
Hal - Too weird. My hubby hates the city too. I haven't been able to convince him to go yet either. Though I adore the city and shows and the bustle. For a short time. Then I get claustrophobic. But it's euphoric for the first bit. :)
Yep, I'm cold natured. Give me a pool with a temp that translates to BATH WATER and I'm happy. :)
You can play all you want. I'm just warning you. You have to admit, that water was damn cold when you were here before and that was during a heat wave in August. In May? I have two words for you > POLAR PLUNGE.
*eye roll* The water was not that cold in August, wuss. It is the Atlantic--so it's not as warm as the Gulf of Mexico--however, when I went to visit my friend Nicki in northern CA in September, it was chilly--and I still played in the ocean. It was a gray overcast day. The Pacific is chillier than its eastcoast counterparts...and I didn't blood care.
It's nowhere near a freaking polar plunge.
Oh, I'll be running in the ocean, Marn, don't worry. We'll see about the swimming though. Last time, I nearly drowned for my efforts. The seas were ROUGH. (Another reason I prefer the Gulf of Mexico.) And if I start to drowning, we can clearly see that Terr will not make an effort to save me--she might get cold. *LOL*
Sorry for my sailor mouth today, guys...*LOL* I did order something, yet again, from Amazon, so that comment was self-directed. Though if you found yourself in those words, well, you're in good company. We should probably form a self-help group.
They did a Polar Plunge here last month. Those people are freakin crazy. I've never even been in the Atlantic. If it's really warm (i.e. August), I'll stick my feet in as I walk along the beach. That's the closest I've come *g*
Terri won't save you because she doesn't know how to swim. LOL! But the kiddo and I will make a chain and try to reach you. LOL!
And for the record, it was only a month ago that they held an actualy Polar Plunge fundraiser right here. So nanny nanny boo boo.
Marn - next time we'll leave the boys with the kiddo and go by ourselves :) I'm the same way - my favorite part of NY is coming up the steps at Penn Station and bursting into all that bustle and craziness. And after a few hours, I'm ready to go home *g*
I'm not real enthused about getting sand all up in my bidness, if you know what I mean, so even if it was warm, I likely wouldn't get wet past my knees. :)
*LOL* You are like the worst pirate. How can you not know how to swim?
We had a Polar Plunge here too, a month ago--or mid-February--and I bet you ours was colder, so don't even play.
Talk to my parents, it's their fault.
I might take that bet. You do realize we are talking the OCEAN vs. a little lake or river or something. Like a VAST BODY OF WATER THAT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO HEAT vs. a little bitty body of water. LOL! Even with ice on it, I'm thinking the ocean might win.
Janga - I'm with you! The spring has been wonderful. I thought I was going to stagnate inside this year. Ugh, though, the Great Depression. I hope you're finding uplifting things too....
So you're saying you're willing to do the Polar Plunge *here* next year, being it's so much warmer and all! That's GREAT news! I'll sign you up!
I liked that, Ter, by the way. Bidness. LOL!
Hal - I think it's a deal! And I love that part of getting into NY too! Though I get turned around under ground (ALWAYS) and end up coming out on the street all disoriented and have to search out street signs to figure out where I am. LOL! But we'll leave the boys here, they can play XBox or whatever, and we'll go be cultured and high-browed. (Or as highbrowed and cultured as we get....) LOL!!
Hells - I did relate to the Amazon whore comment, sadly. :) But I think there are worse vices.
And I'm not interested in sand in my bidness either. I generally avoid the water at the beach. And the sun. But it looks and sounds pretty from under my umbrella, big hat, and 30 SPF sunscreen.
Ha! Good luck with that.
Marn - You should write an entire blog from L'il Pirate's POV. LOL! I bet that would be so fun! He could get into everybody's bidness. ;)
*LOL* A blog in Pirate Shilling's POV would be hysterical.
Wow, that would be hilarious. I'll see what I can do. That might take me a while. Considering that I'd probably come out looking like a complete ass. LOL!
And there in lies the fun for us. LOL! (You see I would not volunteer to do this from my kiddo's POV but then it would have a lot of "And he was all like..." and "But I was all like..." Very annoying.
Oh geez. I am so glad I don't have to deal with that. Conversations with DS go like this:
DS: More Nan, ma. (Nan=banana)
Me: You already had one, that's enough for right now.
DS, adorable face twisted into an imperial scowl, makes the ASL sign for more, as if I didn't understand him the first time: MORE, NAN, MA!
Me, irritated: I said no.
DS, louder and shriller, with that "you are clearly handicapped in the head" look: MOOOREEE!!!
Be happy, Marn. We're in the eye rolling stage. Which I'm pretty sure will continue for the next 20 years at least. It's no wonder my gray hair comes in quicker these days and is harder to cover. *sigh*
Took Bonnie down ta the sea the other day. She chased birds and got her first paw dip inta the chilly waters of Monterey Bay. But were worth it. She'd agree with ya...jes cause the waters 'bout 56 degrees right now...
Terrio don't know how ta swim? We gots ta fix that...make 'er wear the pirate water wings and humiliate 'er inta learning... Now, where did I puts those little armbands...?
I don't know why you're surprised by the eye-rolling, Terr. You're still rolling your eyes at YOUR mother. Turnabout is fair play, right?
I can't wait until you have six of them just like you.
*sticks out tongue*
Chance - Those better be really big water wings. And make them black with the little skull & crossbones on them. I'll wear them with pride.
Off to herd my little pirates....
Bwah ha ha ha ha!
Well, 'ell! Terrio, wouldn't be much good fer humiliatin' if'n they looked that good! These be pink and orange, with baby ducks all ov'r 'em!
How about we just skip the wings and you give me one of them there ducks like you have? LOL!
I'll make ya swim fer it...
Hope ya don't mind, Marnee... I'm posting 'bout 15 minutes early... If'n I don't screw this up!
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