If You Read Only One Book This Year…
… make it one about a subject you know absolutely nothing about.
Doing this will create new ideas for you, and will stretch your current boundaries. Those two things fuel any good writer.
You may want to take it further, though. You might be asking, “What’s the fuel for a truly great writer?”
The answer to that remains elusive. Great writers discover their own mix of secret ingredients. But I’m convinced each one starts with finding ways to expose themselves to subjects, people, places and things they know nothing about. At those moments, inspiration finds them. Rather, they get an idea, and then they act on that idea.
So what am I really saying here? It’s not just about what book you should read next. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone. Act. Forget about finding ways to just wake up your muse. Shake it to its core, instead.
Here are five things you can do to fuel your ideas, and encourage yourself to act on them.
- Talk to a complete stranger for 15 minutes.
- Take a long walk in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
- Try a new form of art. Music. Cooking. Painting, etc.
- Travel.
- Unplug from your digital world for a day.
What other ways can you fuel your ideas?
What else makes great writers?
Please let us know in the comments below!
Image courtesy of sxc.hu.
David A. Kennedy is the Online Communications Manager for The Arc, a nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He’s also a writer, former journalist and co-creator of Journalism Lives, a blog about how interactivity is improving the news. You can read more of his work at his website and blog. He can be found on Twitter @DavidAKennedy.
I actually just wrote an article about a similar topic, so this was a great read; it’s nice to know I’m not alone in encouraging writers to step outside their comfort zones when looking for ideas! Researching new topics always helps me break out of a rut.
One thing I’ve found to be oddly helpful is to be visually creative as well. I have started using a local newspaper to write poetry by cutting words out of headlines and articles and gluing them into a little notebook. It sounds childish, but it’s a very calming process, and I find that it really relaxes me and gets my brain working in new ways. I especially like it because I feel making something beautiful out of so many ugly stories is a way to combat that ugliness. Sketching, drawing and photography are also great ways for breaking out of a creative rut. Anything that gets me out of my ordinary mindset helps.
Bailey,
That is a great idea! If I had to guess, writing poetry that way is a bit easier in a sense. Gone is the need to pull words out of thin air. Instead, you can really concentrate on selecting words with punch. And it’s still writing, but something completely different.
I just may have to try it! :)
Thanks for the read, and the comment.
Often, I go to someplace like Starbucks or something, a place where people come and go a lot, and just free write about the things I see. Once I get into the mode of transcribing basic actions and emotions, it’s easier to get into the groove of writing whatever WIP I have going.
New inspiration can be found down that proverbial “road less traveled.” It really does make all the difference.
For example, I recently watched Michael Moore’s new documentary about Capitalism. I’m not an economist, I know little if anything about national finance, and can’t seem to get interested in the Fed. But now I am inspired and learning new things, seeing the world from a new perspective, and even picked up “Atlas Shrugged” after years of it collecting dust. This has inspired me to put more into my work, take on a few new challenging projects, and learn some new things (like web design). I even signed up for a business class.
Rober Frost was right.
Great post! Thanks.
Great example of how easy it is to really find inspiration, Eric.
Thanks for sharing and good luck with all the new projects!