Hello, all! Throughout my writing journey, I constantly have had people ask me how I stay inspired to write (especially now that I’m writing every day). Each person is inspired by different things, and quite honestly, I get inspired in different ways for every story. For some of my future stories, I’m very inspired by Pinterest (you can check out my boards here!), but for my current trilogy, I draw more inspiration through reading similar books and listening to music. If you’re struggling with inspiration currently, I hope this post may inspire you (*wink wink*) to get back with writing!
I often find music as a huge inspiration to me, especially when it’s relevant to the genre I’m writing. If I’m writing a historical fiction story, I find soundtracks from movies I’ve watched that fit in the time period and listen to it while I write. One of my absolute favorite soundtracks to listen to is the Poldark soundtrack on Spotify. Even though the music is from a historical show, I love to play it when I’m writing practically anything!
Other things I love to reference are books. Everyone says one should read what he or she writes, and I fully believe that! I draw a ton of inspiration from reading books that are the same genre I’m writing. Since I’m writing YA speculative fiction, I try to read the same genre, but I’m actually very picky about the YA I like to read. My favorite series to read when I’m looking for sci-fi inspiration is the Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (linking an old post of mine talking about them!). I’ve read these books more times than I can count, and they’re fantastic!
Another common resource for inspiration is Pinterest. While this is a tool most people use, I think using it for writing is an awesome way to gain inspiration. I create separate boards for each of my stories, from the ones I’m currently working on to stories I would like to write in the future. When I’m stuck during a scene, I’ve often found descriptions of things help me move forward (for some strange reason). So, I’ll often turn to my Pinterest boards to help me describe places or people better when I’m in a rut.
Traveling is also a major inspiration of mine. My family and I travel a lot, and I’ve found several places and houses that have actually inspired scenes in my books! I think the awesome thing about traveling is one can even do it in one’s hometown or state. I have so many places in my hometown I haven’t gone to see before, so even if you aren’t able to travel out-of-state, there are plenty of places you probably haven’t seen in your hometown!
The last thing that helps me with writing inspiration is walking. I know it sounds crazy, but going on walks before writing often helps me gain inspiration. Sometimes when I’m walking, I’ll talk out what I want to happen in a scene and it helps me write more. I highly recommend doing some sort of physical activity where you can think before writing!
Anyways, those are the top things that inspire me to write! I hope if you are struggling with writing currently, those will help you gain inspiration to keep going.
Much love,
Katie