Gimme A Beat...

Welcome to the weekend! Next Friday, I plan to start something new - Freelance Friday - where I hope to offer freelance writing tips, book reviews, helpful links and "don't make the same mistake I did" posts(I have quite a few of those).

But for today, some additional thoughts on creativity and inspiration.

Was there a particular person who influenced your decision to become a writer?

Who inspires you? Maybe it's a writer you read at an early age, maybe your teen or college years or maybe you were inspired by someone new a few weeks ago. Those stories you can't put down, I love those.

Inspiration can come from other places - music, photography, scenes you take in during your day. Music really inspires me, especially when I'm working on my YA novel. I guess for me it's a little easier to plot things out if I've got a beat...

Have a great weekend!


Who or what inspires your writing?

Give Your Creative Process a Boost

Do other creative endeavors help you with your writing process? Most writers are creative people, not only in their writing but in other facets of their lives as well.  For instance, I like to paint. I have done it for years now. I’m not really good at it and I’m sure with the exception of my mother, no one would pay for one of my paintings. Being creative always makes me feel better, and somehow it also helps with my writing.



Self-portrait I painted in college



I think it can be good for writers to explore other creative avenues. For fiction writers it can take the edge off. Focusing your creative energy on something else may help move you past that nasty chapter that won’t come together. A non-fiction writer may happen upon a new idea for a story, or a new twist on an old one.  You don’t have to depart from writing completely to give your creative process a boost- maybe you don’t like to paint, draw, take pictures, play music, etc. Try writing something different; try a new genre, a short story, a news article, keep a journal.  It never hurts to try something new, you may find something you really like, or at least have fun doing it. Kind of like writing. It doesn't have to be great, but you have to do it.



Like I said, it doesn't have to be great...I painted this one with my dad some years back.

 What kinds of things do you do to get the creative juices flowing?