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?
Linda Godfrey says
If it's summer, I try to take a weekend somewhere north of here, preferably with a lake. In winter I go for a weekend in the city or at least a big mall, and people-watch. Best of all are fantasy cons with all the folks, costumes, books, industry people and activities anyone could need.
Closer to home, a long walk or a long bath both help a lot.
Just thinking about all those places is giving me raging cabin fever. Must – schedule – trip!
Harley D. Palmer says
It depends on the scene I am trying to write. If I need to write some internal dialogue, I usually head to the park. Something about the serene atmosphere really gets the characters talking to me about what they are thinking. When I need to get into the mind of one of my male characters, I might talk to my husband or call my Dad.
The biggest way for me to get inspired though is to write with pen and paper, instead of the computer or typewriter. I don't know what it is, but hand writing just let's the muse free! I save it though for when I am really stuck or if the location calls for it. That way, it doesn't lose its power!
M.J. Nicholls says
Inspiration is an artificial construct dreamt up by non-writers to make the process seem more akin to the romanticism of classical poets. It's hokum, Mr. Brandy.
Tell you what though, and I say this with a shade of irony and genuine heartfelt emotional stuff:
I don't go to this blog for inspiration. It's like being trapped in a lift with the world's writing talent, all ignoring one another.
🙂
Linnea says
The only thing I need to do to unlock my creativity is to put my mind at peace for a while. I'm lucky. I can do that at home. We live on acreage so if I'm having a hard time with my writing I simply go out and walk in the field with the horses. They're very soothing. I feel refreshed and ready to get back to work once I've spent time with the animals.
Aaron Pogue says
For me it's church. Or Buffalo Wild Wings.
Oh, and just one time, Dunnotar Castle in Scotland. On bulk, though, Buffalo Wild Wings has it hands down.
Giles says
I go to London, England; Estes Park, CO, and local coffee shops in the Denver area. I also play story-intensive video games and read inspiring books.
Shelley Watters says
It might sound a little strange, but I get my best ideas when I'm putting my daughter to bed. I sit in her dark room nursing her and I have nothing to do but think. It's the one time during the day that I am able to simply sit in the quiet and let my muse go wild.
Annoula says
Anywhere I can hook up earphones and access music. Music affects me very strongly. I use the earphones to wipe out any distractions. Then I close my eyes and lose myself in the world of that particular song. Almost like a form of meditation.
GalaktioNova says
Aww, this is a lovely question! Thank you!
I need to go somewhere really old… preferably medieval (no problem here in France)… I need to see and touch things that've been handled by generations of awesome and weird people, and as I think about them, I start coming up with their stories.
As a quick and cheap alternative, some atmospheric paintings depicting similarly awesome, old, weird things and settings can do the trick, even online.
Erin says
In college I went the the campus baseball field, particularly when it was empty. I'd sit in the bleachers, breathe, feel the sun.
Richard Mabry says
I go to the kitchen, pull out a can of diet A&W root beer, stretch out on the bed, and read a chapter of one of Robert B. Parker's books. Then I let Stephen King's "boys in the basement" work for a while. When I sit down to write again, I'm usually able to move forward.
Anonymous says
Inspiration comes for me armed with a snipers rifle taking pot shots when i least expect it, shooting me down in the checkout queue, striking me stupid and speechless and rendering my body slow and unco-ordinated. I try and fight back, think about my wife doing things out of character or myself endowed with countless riches and such, but by the time it's got me in it's sights again, I'm a dead man writing …
winklewitch says
I live in Richmond BC and wer're surrounded by a Dyke – fingers crossed it's a good one. I go for a walk along the dyke when I get stuck or need some inspiration. When I'm really stuck I do the entire west dyke trail – about 20K.
It's breezy and lined with fabulous houses. Tortoises live in the ditches, and theres an organic meat business that grazes their cows on the land across the dyke. To top it off, there's a park at the end where people are usually flying kites.
Lots of variety, fresh air and exercise make me very inspired.
Reena Jacobs says
@Stacy McKitrick
Same here, I always find inspiration in the shower. I've speculated why, and the only thing I can think of is that it's a guilt-free time where I can relax. No worries about all the things I should be doing instead of writing. No distractions, just me and the warm heat.
out-totheblack says
LOL, oh that's funny. I was writing about this yesterday, what stirs my muse.
For me, it is role playing games (with live people, not computers). When I get stuck, I stop and think, "If I were running a game, what would happen next…"
For general getting in a writerly mood, Celtic music does it for me. Not that I'm writing about Celtic things, but that is where my head seems to live. Everytime I hear it, pictures start forming in my head, then the next thing I know, I have to go write.
Susan Gratton says
I just go to Barnes and Noble. Just being around books is an aphrodisiac for me. It gets the creativity flowing. And it doesn't hurt to think about my book being on one of their shelves someday, either.
DG says
Reading a good book inspires me, so does browsing Barnes and Noble.
Avery June says
The North Reading Room of the Doe Library. I remember the hours I spent there reading and writing about things I didn't want to be reading or writing about. Ah, memories. They make writing a novel seem so pleasant and easy.
Vegas Linda Lou says
I love to write in bars, especially if there's a good blues band and lots of bikers.
Sarah says
There's this incredible place here in town that I go to; it's an old warehouse-turned-coffee-shop that has lots of exposed brick, antique tables and couches, cozy chairs, & awesome artwork on the walls… I take my trusty laptop there, plug in some earphones and let Frank, Ella, Louis, and Billie serenade me with their sweet sounds of jazz. Beautiful inspiration!
Kat Harris says
Long drives through the Nebraska Sandhills usually do it for me.
Linda says
I head to the library. Where better to find inspiration than to be surrounded by books?
Other Lisa says
My shower.
Mira says
sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep
ah, sleep
Also, blogs, forums and websites are a source of great inspiration for me. Truly. I think it's because my style is first person, dialogue based, and that's exactly what you find on the internet. I have great fun here because it sparks my creativity in a way few other places do. Sadly, that gets me into terrible trouble, but I guess that's the sacrifice I make to my art. 🙂
Welcome back, Nathan. 🙂
Kristi says
National Geographic magazine, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Wikipedia (start clicking random links off of familiar topics…).
Sometimes I just go to work. Not because work is inspiring, but because the creative half of my brain is so starved for use there that it starts inventing whacko stuff to distract me with (explaining the benefits of "paycheck" and "insurance" to that particular brain mass is apparently rather useless…)
sputnitsa says
I don't do it on purpose (maybe I ought to?) but I find subway rides really move things forward for me.
Charity Bradford says
With four kids at home, I can't go far. My favorite place is a corner of my local library. It is fairly quiet, I'm surrounded by authors I admire, I can people watch if I want, or I can just plug in my Ipod and get to work.
It's not exotic, or even beautiful, but it works for me.
Thermocline says
Walking anywhere I can see trees.
Yamile says
Since my wip takes place in my country, I go online and take virtual tours of my birth town, Rosario. The drawback is that after I do, this homesickness that's almost like a physical pain remains for days. It does drive me to writing my best, but like I said, it hurts!
christine zoe palau says
Public transportation–a hotbed of absurdity and, therefore, inspiration!
Marilyn Peake says
Similar to the experience you describe, travel inspires me to write. This past summer, I traveled to Alaska and found that very inspiring. Most of the time, however, I’m at home and need to find other ways to stay motivated to write. The nice thing about writing is that it allows the writer to step into another world created solely by their imagination, and I find that exhilarating. I love the creative process! Also, I tend to write stories set in exotic locations, and I enjoy researching the details of those locations on the Internet and through non-fiction books, even if I can’t actually travel there. I also find motivation in news stories, as I tend to weave political thriller elements into many of my stories. Watching a really good, creative movie also inspires me to write. And sometimes I just need to relax, socialize or exercise before I can actually get down to the business of writing.
Beth Sorensen says
Any place where waves hit the sand.
Munk says
Inside, unless of course I am outside, that'll work too.
Nona at 9:36, and 9:37 and… Be careful, too much oxygen can make you repeat yourself, yourself.
Nic says
It depends, sometimes its a piece of music, sometimes its a movie, sometimes its just looking up to the sky at night, sometimes its people watching. I think you've just got to derive inspiration from everything around you.
The Red Angel says
I love going to Massachusetts because it's where I grew up and it always gets me to think. There is also sooo much to do and see and observe, it's almost impossible not to strike some ideas there!
I also like taking walks and listening to music. 🙂
Nick says
Anything and everything, really. If we're talking about a place though, Lothian and the Borders are wonderful. Particularly East Lothian.
Crystal says
I go (as odd as this may sound) into my head for inspiration. I think of an idea, and play it through my head for a few weeks (or months) and have different senarios/the story progress and grow the characters.
I also listen to music to get me in the writing mood 🙂
G says
Because the particular suburb that I live in has that small town charm (even though the pop is about 20K), I often take walks in the mountain that lies some twenty feet from my house.
Great way to get inspiration.
Ryan says
I drive to my favorite river. I get a lot of writing done in my van. Here's a long exposure shot of my van on the banks of Oregon's Deschutes river. The train rolled by and my dog stayed really still so you can see him too. I call these trips overnight writing and fishing retreats. The soothing pressure of a river on my legs and the sound of moving water always does it for me.
https://chincurrents.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/deschutes-train-rolling-by.jpg
Jeannie says
Usually a few days' worth of gardening will do the trick for me.
Anonymous says
France. When I can, which isn't often enough.
Art Rosch says
I get my best thinking done on my bicycle. The weather has been terrible, and I've had to resort to an indoor bike lately. It ain't the same, especially as I take a book
and read someone else's writing instead of thinking about my own
obstacles.
Kathryn Magendie says
Living in the Smokies, in a little fairly secluded cove, is inspiring…the quiet, nature, mountains, creek – all.
Karen says
I don't do this purposely for inspiration, but find it is where I most of my ideas come to me — while driving alone in my car. It's a place where all I can really do is watch the road and think, so the ideas flow. Oh, and in the shower. I don't really have a good reason for that one! Not very romantic locations for inspiration. Guess that's why I don't write romance.
AjFrey says
In books, reading inspires me the most, followed secondly by music. Many of my projects have started with a great song. Something in the lyrics just opens up the part of my brain that stores the ideas.
People watching is another place where I find inspiration. But it all boils down to the "what if"
http://www.aj-frey.blogspot.com
Michael A. Emeritz says
I go anywhere other than where I've been writing. Usually a fresh location is all I need. I also take a small notebook with me everywhere, regardless of whether or not I'm working on anything at the time. Then I can always go back to review the notes I've taken in other locations, and this helps to place my mind in a different setting.
Michael A. Emeritz says
I go anywhere other than where I've been writing. Usually a fresh location is all I need. I also take a small notebook with me everywhere, regardless of whether or not I'm working on anything at the time. Then I can always go back to review the notes I've taken in other locations, and this helps to place my mind in a different setting.
Michael A. Emeritz says
I go anywhere other than where I've been writing. Usually a fresh location is all I need. I also take a small notebook with me everywhere, regardless of whether or not I'm working on anything at the time. Then I can always go back to review the notes I've taken in other locations, and this helps to place my mind in a different setting.
Kaitlyne says
I tend to get ideas while I'm walking (I don't have a car so this is often) or out running. I don't really have a specific place that I go to for writing, unless you count work. 😉
There is a fantastic little ramen shop down the road with tables on the roof that look out over the ocean, and in the summer when it was warm I'd often go up there for editing. I haven't tried it yet with writing, but I plan to once they open it up again.
Maureen says
I go outside. Nature inspires me and clears my mind of all the cobwebs that accumulate while sitting inside. At the very least, I take my dogs for a walk. My ultimate inspirational location is the ocean. Since I currently live in a land-locked state, I only get there about once a year.