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#1. Listen To Epic Music

Listen to music that makes you feel something. Play tunes that make you feel and imagine things, ideas, images, moods. It’s amazing what the right song lyric, key change, or riff can do to one’s imagination. Music can create the framework for intense imaginings. Stories often evoke and are inspired by great emotions. Music is the same. I believe that music and writing go hand in hand. An inspiring playlist can work wonders for your creativity.

#2. Move Around

Going for a walk in an area you love can clear your mind. Listen to music that inspires you while you move around. I’ve always found that walking while listening to intense music helps me get into writer mode. You see, how you live on the day-to-day will affect your writing. Much of my inspiration happens when I’m not at the laptop writing. I like to create a framework, if you will, that makes me feel inspired on a daily basis. Light exercise such as walking or jogging is not only good for your physical and mental health, it can also be a medium for day dreaming or finding new ideas.

#3. Watch Films And Read Books That Inspire You

Do you find yourself drawn to certain genres of movies or books? It might be a good idea to write in that genre. Start with a topic or a time period that interests you and watch different films that are in line with that to get ideas from other creatives. I can’t tell you how many times a film or a TV show has given me ideas for my own stories. Sometimes it’s just a line, a scene, or a setting that can get the ball rolling for my own creativity. As a writer, it’s a good idea to read a couple of books per year. To be a good writer, you need to read and learn from other writers.

#4. Live Life

Go on walks, take that day trip to another city, travel, meet up with friends, go to events (Post-Covid time), visit the library, explore. This can inspire you to write about the things you’ve experienced. It doesn’t need to be a literal biography-style story. Instead, you can recreate certain situations, feelings, or settings in a fictional or poem format. Not to mention that it’s important for all writers to live a life worth writing about. It doesn’t need to be crazy or constantly stimulating, but spending time away from your work will give you meaning and inspiration. For me, nature walks and watching sunsets help keep me inspired and loving life.

#5. Be Present

Think of the moments you’ve most enjoyed in your life. Those were the times you were fully engaged in what you were doing or who you were with. Try to have at least one moment every day where you’re fully present in what you’re feeling or experiencing, even if that’s having your first cup of tea of the day or having a relaxing walk home at dusk. Tuning into your own emotions can help you then create a realistic character who has their own complex ideas, feelings, moods, desires, etc. Understanding yourself and your own emotions can help you better relate to other people, such as the characters you want to write about.

#6. Write Down Those Random Ideas That Inspire You

I admit this is one I’ve struggled with. I used to be the type of writer who would say “Oh I’ll store the whole story in my imagination anyway.” Yes, the overall story will stay in my head, but those finer details, those deeper feelings or intense dialogue scenes that come to me when I’m busy or not able to write in that moment should be recorded so I can add them to the story later. I like to think that I won’t forget an inspiring line or a really great idea, but sometimes I do by the time the day ends. The truth is that most of us live pretty fast-paced lives and we’re often bombarded by tasks, social media, and other obligations that can distract us. Human attention spans are short enough as it is. So, be sure to write down that random thought or idea which might be good for a story later on. Even if you don’t have time to write that story for weeks, if you record those little trinkets of words, you’ll have a small story to build from when you do get a chance to sit down and start formulating the full story.

#7. Use Your Own Experiences As Inspiration

Some people might struggle with the idea of writing about their own lives, simply because it can be awkward, or even risky, to write a book that’s true to your own life. What you can do instead is write a piece of your own story, but put it in a different time period or in another part of the world so there’s a degree of separation from you. Personally, most of my stories are inspired by people or circumstances outside of myself. Take my historical stories, for example. The characters and events have nothing to do with me or my experiences, but were instead a result of my curiosity about other people from different eras. Recently, though, I’ve been incorporating some of my own experiences into my writing. I suppose I’ve lived through some amazing and intense things since I first began my writing journey. Now it makes sense to put some of those lived situations into my stories. I like the idea of writing about my own experiences and putting them in surreal or far away places so that the emotions are real, but the time period is far enough away from me that it doesn’t feel revealing.

I hope this was helpful to anyone who might have writer’s block or who’s struggling to write a story. If any of these tips helped you, please let me know. If you have any other tips that you’ve found helpful for staying inspired, please let me know in the comments below. 🙂