Do you ever think it’s weird how the most unexpected things can inspire you to write? Like, the most amazing idea of a character can strike you when you’re washing the dishes. Or, this epic new storyline forms in your head when you’re listening to a song or watching a movie whose genre is unrelated to anything that you would want to write about. I love how the writer’s mind works, and how inspiration can strike sometimes when we’re not even looking for it. It’s especially welcome when one has gone through a long spell of writer’s block or hasn’t had the mental energy to write for a few weeks.

I myself felt a relapse of intense inspiration while listening to some sadcore songs by Lana Del Rey. I normally listen to her music to unwind or to combat stress/anxiety. Then, one day, I played a few of her songs while cleaning my room and the sun was shining through my window. (For those of you that don’t know me as well… it’s rain that normally feeds my writing energy, not sunshine. I’ve often said that I loath too many sunny days in a row). I don’t know how this moment gave me the motivation to think of new characters and further the plot of my novel – which is bleak and dark in most scenes, but it somehow did. I’m not sure what this says about my psyche right now, but whatever. I’ll embrace the artistic-driven euphoria while it lasts.I am about half-way through that outline I said I would work on a couple of weeks ago, but it’s progress! There’s just a lot of details to work out, so I am not going to rush it right now.

I guess I’m just always fascinated by the workings of a human’s mind, especially a creative writer’s mind. It can go from orderly to chaotic to melancholic to joyous all within the span of a couple of days. I guess it’s what needed to create spell-binding tales…

How about you? Have you ever felt strongly inspired to write during an unexpected or strange moment?

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