“Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper.”
~Ray Bradbury, Writers Digest~

When Anne Frank said “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn”, she perfectly summed up why countless individuals turn to writing both as a career choice and a hobby. The USA, in particular, is a writer’s hotspot with more than 44, 000 authors and writers reportedly working in the United States in 2016 according to the United States Department of Labor.

If you are a writer, whether a blogger, freelancer or seasoned novelist, you will know how important finding the right inspiration is. It is easy to write when you are inspired, making the task at hand so enjoyable that you may even find yourself forgetting to eat or sleep. On the other hand, when you are lacking inspiration, you can become so discouraged and disheartened that you can’t write at all.

If you are a writer, whether a blogger, freelancer or seasoned novelist, you will know how important finding the right inspiration is

Take a trip down memory lane

There are numerous ways through which you can find inspiration by exploring the past with reading being just one of them. It is perfectly acceptable for a writer to draw inspiration from reading the works of others.  One activity that can prove to be particularly beneficial is the reading of old books and newspapers. Spending a couple of hours reading through the classic literature of authors such as Mark Twain, Jane Austen, George Orwell and J.R.R Tolkien can you inspire you to greatness, and even if it doesn’t it will end up giving your vocabulary a boost. Visiting your local library to view old newspaper archives is a good way to jog your memory and get your creative juices flowing, especially if you are looking to base your written piece around real-life events.

Looking through old photographs or listening to people telling tales of bygone times are other superb ways of finding inspiration by examining the past. Be sure to harness the emotions evoked by these trips down memory lane as they can turn out to trigger some of your best ideas when it comes to writing a possible award-winning piece.

Looking through old photographs or listening to people telling tales of bygone times are other superb ways of finding inspiration by examining the past.

Embrace the present

As much as we can be inspired by the past, the present can offer its own share of inspiration, often courtesy of modern-day technology such as movies & television, music, and the internet. Many conventional writers think of movies and television as a curse to the creative spirit when in fact they could both spark some pretty good ideas in an artistic mind. Browsing the internet can open up a whole new world of inspiration. There are countless of resources available to aspiring writers on the internet ranging from virtual scrapbooks such as Pinterest to motivational blogs, vlogs and writing communities on various social media platforms and independent sites. Taking the time to read interesting articles and explore new web pages can help you add a fresh perspective to your written work. Whatever research you need to conduct is just a couple of click away thanks to the internet.

Regardless of how much you love writing there will be days that you need added inspiration.  While the above guidelines can help you enter an inspired state every writer has to find his own unique source of inspiration. Don’t feel disheartened if you don’t draw inspiration from any of the suggestions mentioned as true motivation often stems from the most unlikely of sources.

By Jane Sandwood

Source: twodropsofink.com

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