How To Find Inspiration For Your Writing

If there is one thing every writer needs, it is to be inspired. Without inspiration, where do our ideas come from? Writers work best when they are feeling inspired, where they can view the world around them as a wonderful melting pot of ideas just waiting to be plucked out and woven into fantastic stories and tales.

Finding inspiration however, can sometimes be harder then it looks. In fact, it actually takes practice and training to keep our eyes, ears and minds open to the inspiring things that take place all around us every single day, and sometimes you’ll realise that you’ve found it in the unlikeliest of places!

So here is a list of some of our favourite ways to find inspiration, ones that can get you feeling motivated and excited, and falling in love with writing all over again.

How to find inspiration

Books

Naturally the first place to start is books. As writers, it is so important that we read. Not just comfortable, familiar reading, but books that challenge us, that take us out of our comfort zone, that make us feel uncomfortable, excited, and, yes, you got it, inspired.

Reading is a writers best way of learning and understanding the sheer enormity and variety of their craft. If you keep reading you’ll undoubtedly find your own writing changing, and being influenced by those you most admire too.

Journeys

Travelling is a fantastic way to get ideas for stories. This can be travelling in its most basic form. Just by sitting on a bus for a couple of hours, for example, will allow you to see so many different kinds of people, and overhear so many different conversations.

Or, why not take this even further both metaphorically and literally, and travel to a new town, city, or country? Absorb the new sights, sounds and smells, take it all in, you’ll no doubt feel inspired afterwards.

Music

Music is a powerful tool and can conjure up an incredible range of emotions within us, music can make us feel nostalgic, powerful, anguished, enlivened. Listen to a huge range of music and write down how you feel - it will help you explore so many different emotions, ones which you can then use in your stories.

Walks

There is nothing like a bit of fresh air and exercise to make us feel inspired. You might love wandering round the streets of a bustling city, or prefer to get out into the rolling hills and ancient forests of the countryside. Whatever your choice, walking is a great way to settle your mind and let the creative juices flow.

Quotes

Quotes can help us make sense of the world in a way we couldn’t before. Sometimes all you need is a relevant quote to give you an idea, or just give you that little nudge, that little spark of self confidence needed to keep on going.

These are just a few things that we use to inspire us in our writing, so next time you are feeling out of ideas, why not give them a try? And let us know what yours are too!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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