How do you expect to get inspiration for your writing, staring at a blank screen cooped up in your room?
Here are 15 soul-feeding activities that help you overcome writers block. Because to get inspired, you must interact with inspiring things.
15 Soul-Feeding Activities:
#15 Reading, movies/series
This is self-explanatory for a writer like me. But I find that the times in my life when I have the most inspiration are the times I read a lot, which I doubt is a coincidence. I want you to search for that “I can’t go to sleep, this is too good” feeling. It dosen’t matter if it’s fanfiction or a book. The same thing goes for movies, series, or even a youtuber you like. As long as you are emotionally invested, and as long as you find genuine pleasure in watching it.
#14. Reasearch your Craft
Watching tutorials, reasearching your craft and trying out hacks allows you to engage with other passionate people, and helps you experiement with your craft; which is always a good inspiration-booster.
#13. Keep an Idea-Journal
Keep an idea-journal to bring with you throughout your day. This could be on your phone or in a physical notebook. Make a habit of writing your ideas down the moment inspiration strikes. Write down your emotions, your thoughts, beautiful things you see and collect the little details about your life for later inspiration.
#12. Experience History
Go to museums, historical buildings or read about historical people – gain inspiration from real-life stories.
#11. Go outside your own artform
Watch other forms of art you like and get inspired through that; dance, festivals, concerts, art galleries, photo galleries, theatre, poetry and much more. Discover different ways of expression and allow it to fuel your own creativity.
#10. Get active.
It’s scientifically proven that a brisk 30-min walk can boost your creativity. Dance, walk, clean – do something physical that gets your heartrate up while you’re pondering new ideas. Trust me, this is a lifesaver.
#9. Let your Mind Wander
One way to boost creativity is while doing something else. Silence the critic by putting on music and daydreaming. Clean, shower walk, pet a fish, plot your enemy’s demise – do anything normal and mundane, and let your thoughts wander out of control. Let yourself daydream.
#8. Play pretend
Play pretend like when you were a child – experience the story for yourself, create elaborate timelines and release any desire to be good or perfect. Just play pretend, have some fun.
#7. Peoplewatch.
Go to parks, coffeeshops, grocery store- or even just look outside your window. Watch the people, analyse them, create stories about where they may be headed, what they are thinking, what’s going on in their life.
#6. Make a moodboard on pinterest
We’ve all been there. Creating a moodboard with pinterest or canva is amazing for dreaming up surreal, ambience-filled plotlines and characters.
#5. Reasearch
Reasearch an academic subject and imbed the knowledge you find into your world. Reasearch psychology for making characters, history for lore or philosophy for character motivations. Any topic you are interested in will due.
#4. Snowflake Method
The snowflake method is to write a broad description on what will happen in a book, chapter or scene. Then, you rewrite it with more detail. Then you rewrite it with more detail, and so on, and so on.
#3. Travel to a place that reminds you of your book
Visit a place that reminds you of a location in your book; write down the sensations, sounds, sights, etc while being there. If there’s a scene happening in a forest, travel to the forest. If there’s a scene happening in a religious building, travel to your nearest religious building. If it’s set in a library, go to the library.
For some reason, it always helps to be at the same place as your characters. It makes them seem so much more real.
Bring your idea-journal and describe the setting in smell, touch, hearing, sight, taste and emotion. Observe the people there, observe the ambience. Write a scene and SEE it happening before you.
#2. Dream Method
Think about the last chapter you wrote right before falling asleep. If you do this continuously, you’ll start dreaming about your book – and the solutions that happens in your sleep are always immaculate.
#1. Have soul-feeding conversations
It dosen’t matter if it’s with a stranger or a friend. Have a conversation about something you love.
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