As chronicled yesterday, San Miguel de Allende is quite an inspiring place. The landscape and architecture are beautiful, the weather is perfect, and they somehow manage to have a spectacular sunset every single night. No surprise, then, that artists and writers have been coming here for years for inspiration. It’s a great place for creativity.
It got me to thinking about how all writers seem to have a place (usually closer to home) where they go when they need to unlock the creativity or possibly beat a case of writer’s block. Some places just get the mind thinking and the creative juices flowing.
Where do you go when you need inspiration?
joannehuspek says
Funny. I go to San Francisco. It's the one place where I can get the most work done.
Tina Lynn says
I hang out with my kids. They are excellent sources of cute and funny dialogue.
D. Clay says
Interesting question. It depends on what you're writing. Sometimes all it takes is the right music on the iPod; other times demand escape…..to anywhere!
Rabid Fox says
I've never felt that any one physical location offered me more inspiration over another. If I'm looking to write, there are certainly comfy spots I seek out to help get the job done. But for just the inspiration to write, I tend to just crawl inside my own head. Those last fitful minutes before going to sleep at night, staring up through the darkness towards the ceiling, that's where I'll find some inspiration.
Lisa Desrochers says
The open road in my car, with the top down and the music up. (My muse is a wannabe rock star.)
Susana Mai says
I sit on my couch, get cozy, wrap up with a blanket with my laptop on my lap. I've got to have a drink, got to have a little bowl of Nestle's chocolate chips. The best time is in the evening, around seven or eight. It's the best feeling, being safe in your own home and writing about evil and darkness and twisty plots!
Jeannie says
I have a place in Cambria, CA where I go. It overlooks the ocean and I feel completely inspired when I visit.
Birgitte Necessary says
I get in my car too…or I get off my butt and walk. When I let my mind go, it starts having long conversations with itself and whatever people are hiding out in there, sometimes the conversations even relate to my story.
I also LOVE Pandora radio. If I'm writing certain characters it helps to hear certain music and I can dial up a huge variety of blues, or rap when I need it.
Beautiful settings don't inspire me because I'm not writing about beautiful things. I'd go to the tropics AFTER I was done writing.
InMyDreamsItWasSimpler says
I go under the duvet with a good book!
Kelly R. Morgan says
I have the Cascades in my backyard. Snow in the mountains and not on me is one of my favorite settings. Most of the time I can just look out side or take a short drive.
Sam says
Any number of things that people have mentioned–go for a walk, read a book, drive.
I think the most important thing for me is to relax, whatever it is that I do. Can't let nerves and neuroses control how I write. I relax, and come back later–refreshed.
Amie Boudreau says
I don't get to go there anymore… but The French Quarter for me was always inspirational for both my writing and my photography.
Such a diverse place where you can see so many different people and things all in one small area of a city.
Kristan says
Europe. I mean, ideally. When I can't afford that (which is, oh, always) I just put on headphones (sometimes with music, sometimes without) and just write.
Walks help. Drives help. Showers help.
Trace says
For me it's about attitude. I have to have the right attitude and stillness.
M.J.B. says
I try to find some sort of quiet slice of nature when I can, but typically I have to resort to a memory of one of my favorite spots on earth, because I can't quite afford to go there all that often: a wooden bench in a small, quiet clearing surrounded by eucalyptus trees on the side of Mt. Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand. I still call it my Eucalyptus Nook, and I'm hoping to get back there this year (after five years away).
Otherwise, I'm pathetic in that I love corporate coffee shops like Starbucks, because they provide consistent, predictable atmospheres that allow me both to drink tea and to forget where I am. For whatever reason, the coziness of this inspires me. I'm perfectly comfortable being typical in this regard!
Matt Ryan says
Nathan –
Great Question. Many things inspire me and get my mind moving and they all have one common denominator: departure from the day-to-day (i.e. joy of life).
A fantastic movie, music, exercise, road trips, sunning in my backyard, exotic destinations, and letting loose are all things that get the creativity flowing.
I find I'm most creative the morning after a social night of debauchery.
Heather says
My bookshelf, or the library.
Richard Gibson says
I go for a walk in the country with my dog. Often settles problems from turn of a phrase to a whole approach, as well as inspiration to get to work.
debitaoctaviani says
i come to train station and i see many people and their actvity make me got inspiration^_^
Kayeleen says
In my younger days, there was a garden with beautiful plants and statues on the campus of my local university. Nowadays, it's really any place with a door that locks so my kids don't climb all over me for five minutes.
Kate says
San Antonio, Texas. But it's a little far, so sometimes the library. Otherwise, my bedroom with the bed made, the door shut, the heater on, and the drapes closed.
Lauren says
For me, it's traveling alone. It gives me such a different perspective on the world than traveling with family or friends does. Perhaps it's the constant interior monologue that helps bring forth new insights about my plot and characters, or just the undercurrent of anxiety and unanswered questions that accompany me on a trip alone. Whatever it is, the words always flow more freely during a solo trip, and it continues for a few weeks after I return, too.
Sometimes just getting out on a long walk/run with my dog will do it. Or going to a library or coffee shop on the other side of the city to write. But about once a year, I really get that urge to take a long solo road trip, or head off to the airport by myself. I'm excited about my planned trip for this year — NYC, coming up in a few weeks. I'm going there for a Sondheim concert, but staying for a few days just to chill out with myself.
D. G. Hudson says
Places near water inspire me, especially cities like San Francisco, Vancouver, Key West, etc.
Closer to home, it's the walks near water, whether it's a beach, a river, or a lake.
Inspiration can be anywhere, but you have to be sharp to catch it. A new place can always bring up new ideas, when you consider the history and people of that place.
Not all of us can trip down to Mexico, but little trips to get you out of your usual writing place can refresh one's perspective.
elancross says
The weirdest thing–on the elliptical machine! I have to schedule five extra minutes of gym time so that I can jot down all the ideas that seem to flow one after the other. Sometimes I can't keep up!
Nona says
i go for a long bike ride . . it delivers oxygen to all parts of the body, including the brain.
K.L. Brady says
I love New York! I justed visited there this weekend. Stayed at the Hilton that was, ironically, right down the street from Simon & Schuster. I always feel energized when I visit there. Somehow, the smell of street dogs, chicken kabobs, and salty pretzel, helps draw out my inner artiste.
Nona says
i go for a long bike ride . . it delivers oxygen to all parts of the body, including the brain.
Nona says
i go for a long bike ride . . it delivers oxygen to all parts of the body, including the brain.
Nona says
i go for a long bike ride . . it delivers oxygen to all parts of the body, including the brain.
Stacy McKitrick says
Inspiration has struck me on my commute to and from work, but the BEST place is in the shower!
I don't know what it is about it, but I can usually come up with solutions to problems I'm having with a scene. There isn't any music (although that helps in the car) and there isn't any scenery. Just the sound of the water – it really is inspiring!
Anonymous says
I take "research trips:"
I wrote the full rough draft of a novel in three months in Santa Fe with side trips around the Southwest.
I took a month and then another three-week trip at the end of the novel for another novel in the setting where I wrote it.
I spent a month in North Carolina on the ocean.
If you go off season and sublet a room or an apt or condo, this is quite possible in a very affordable way.
Turn on your senses and turn off the Internet (limit it anyway to once a week e-mails) is vital to these trips too.
Matt Ryan says
Stacy –
That's hilarious, because I don't necessarily find inspiration in the shower, but solutions to holes in my plot do tend to arise there as well.
Chuck H. says
Nothing sparks inspiration like a long motorcycle ride. I don't have an audio system on my bike so for entertainment I'm stuck with singing to myself or talking to myself.
For actual writing, I prefer a certain coffee shop in our small town or, in warm weather, the patio at the local college student union. The things one can see and make up stories about!!
WV: cratin – is that a misspelled insult?
Hope says
Being a stay-at-home mom of two, brainstorming time comes either very early in morning or very late at night. When I need get the brain juices flowing, I pack the kids in car, occupy them with a DVD while I listen to tunes that inspire the writing that needs to be done! My most productive thinking comes through music!
Lisa Schroeder says
I go for a walk and listen to music that sets the tone for the book I'm writing. Well written songs sung by singers I love inspire me more than anything.
ryan field says
Jogging on the towpath between the River and Canal.
Tricia says
i follow a bit of the appalachian trail that runs not too far from our house. i carry a camera and small journal. sometime along the walk a spark of an idea usually happens. if i can't get to the trail then watching a documentary or scanning through the photos on flickr does the trick.
Spam Names says
Traveling in general always fills me with inspiration, and I always bring at least one manuscript and notes.
I feel, as I wait in an airport or train station, and as I embark on a plane or train, that I can change my life en route, write everything I've ever wanted to write, keep the aerial or elevated perspective–retain it on the ground and charge powerfully through the rest of my life.
Unfortunately, instead of writing, I usually end up reading fashion magazines cover-to-cover and visiting the snack bar and (voila!) the trip is over. Today's travel is so fast. Maybe I should start taking boats…
So…back on the ground…it comes down to drudging away at my desk. After so many years at it, I can write anywhere. The inspiration comes (mild or strong) through the simple act of making myself do it.
But lately, for specific inspiration, I go to my spam filter!
Polenth says
I don't go anywhere. There's nowhere I can go most of the time. That's not the exciting answer, but sometimes you just have to find inspiration where you're sitting.
Jonathon Arntson says
I go have a life. Grocery shop, hang out with my nieces and nephews, drive through the frozen wasteland of a beach we have right now. When an idea comes to be I audio-record it into my phone detective style.
Daniel says
I usually put my earbuds in and go for a walk. Someplace with lots of people that I can watch, occasionally eavesdrop on, and study. Or I just read a good book. Or shoot the basketball around to get my blood going… Or I'll draw/sketch/paint something. That's it.
Charlee Vale says
Funny, I find inspiration in the little things I notice all around me. I don't have to be in any one place.
But if I actually want to get things done a coffee shop is usually my best bet!
Tabitha says
I can go pretty much anywhere, anytime, and feel inspired to write. You just need to know how to ask yourself the right questions. 🙂
Courtney Price says
To bed 🙂 Seriously! Or the beach!
Scott says
More and more lately, the car unlocks the creative juices. I don't know why, I just know that normally on the drive to/from work I'm able to work out any kinks in my writing. The bar also helps. I get tons of inspiration for potential characters by going to the bar every now and then and just watching people.
Dara says
Not sure. I don't have one place in particular that inspires me to write. Anywhere from my living room couch with the laptop and my mp3 music to a booth at Panera Bread or the local bookstore. It all depends.
However, it seems like taking a hot shower always gets the creative juices flowing–that tends to be where I figure out any plot problems. I used to think it was just me but it looks like others find it there too!
Kristi says
I go to sleep — it's a method that's never failed me. Plus, it's easy for me to do. I love sleeping!
T. Anne says
I come here Nathan. Is it a wonder the MC of my new WIP wears lots of orange and lives in San Francisco?
Seriously, my muse lives in my ipod. He also enjoys a good dose of chocolate on a daily basis.
Erika Robuck says
The Hardbean Cafe, an Indie bookstore/coffee shop in Annapolis, is my favorite local spot (outside of my office.)
My all-time favorite place is at the beach in Topsail Island, North Carolina, at night, on the deck, with my laptop. I fix myself a decaf and put on my Pandora Classical music mix. It's heaven on earth.
The Sesquipedalian says
I take a half hour walk every morning at 6:00 a.m. My feet know the way, so my mind is free to wander where it will.