Writing Advice Wednesday

It’s not possible for a creative person to continually draw from the well of inspiration without occasionally stopping to refill the source.

What, other than television or film,  inspires you? Is it music? Dance? Painting? Swimming? Walking? Climbing? Canoeing? Gardening? Take some time to enjoy what you love every week (but certainly every month). My inspiration and renewal day is Wednesday. It might be a new exhibition at a local museum, a gallery walk, or a new yoga class I haven’t tried.

Be really selfish and do whatever it is that makes your body relax or your heart soar. Do this alone. Give yourself the freedom to completely indulge yourself or in one of your passions without any distractions, interruptions, or demands from anyone else.

Buy a single ticket to a concert, or other non-verbal performance. Spend an hour wandering around a museum alone. See some new museum exhibit or part of the permanent collection that you’ve never seen before.

Take some time to enjoy nature or revel in the Great Outdoors. Wander around a public park or flower garden on your own. See and do exactly what you want for one hour all on your own.

Whatever you do, don’t go to a movie or a play. The object of this exercise is to get away from actors and dialogue and to find rest, renewal, and refreshment elsewhere.

Experiment with something new. If you’ve never seen a professional dance performance, buy a ticket and see what one is like. Seek out an odd or unusual museum. Explore a neglected corner of the countryside or an unexplored corner of your city.

Ride a bus and watch the world go by. People watch. Give your unconscious mind time to reflect and create by doing or thinking about something else. Get a massage. If nothing else, take a long hot bath filled with scented bubbles. Turn the lights down low and play some soft, soothing music. Relax, enjoy, and let your mind wander.

But you say, “I have so much to do!! I have so little time to write as it is.”  Trust me, a break like this will make you all the more productive and focused when you get back to your computer!

If you’re on Pinterest, why not follow my Pinterest board full of useful writing advice? It will be updated weekly, so you can keep track if you ever need an excellent video essay, or some relevant advice to whatever problems you are facing. You can always drop me a line at [email protected] with the subject “Ask Laurie” and I will do my best to answer it. I might even include it in an upcoming edition of Writing Advice Wednesday!

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