Investigations In: Writer's Inspiration (article) by Lillian Sara Cauldwell on AuthorsDen

How to obtain ideas for your writing whether you have a 'mind block' or something you want to write about but you don't know how to get started. Type or Paste your work here... I have heard many people complain at Writer's conventions that writers' block have crippled their creativity. Blocked by this impediment, writers become stymied and frozen in their attitude and approach. Yes, writers' block has invaded my writing from time to time. My stimulus link dried up, but I don't allow it to linger too long. Instead, I shft gears and go into neutral. Why? It permits me to take an alternate route. In yoga, the teachers ask you to empty your mind, close out external noises and thought, and focus on relaxing each part of your body, section by bodily section. This may work for those involved in yoga, but for myself, I have found simpler ways to clear my mind and get my "little gray cells" as Peroit would say, going. My first recommendation is take a walk. How, you would respond. You live in a city. You live in a bad neighborhood. You can't walk, or you don't have the time. These are negtive replies and there are methods to overcome this negativism. Let's start with vacation photos, favorite pictures, or family photos of great-greats or the last family reunion, animal pictures, videos of weddings, retirement parties. The list is endless. I find when the weather is uncooperative: too much snow, icy, too cold, windy, too hot, high humidity, et al, I use photos or favorite pictures to stimulate my mind. When the weather cooperates, take a walk in the metro parks, city parks, and malls and let your mind wander. How much wandering is permitted? Let me count the ways. 1. Let your mind roam toward a pond or lake where you can see through the water, or where the pond or lake has shrunk due to heat, lack of rain, or the atmosphere. I have a small pond on my property. As the water receded during the summer, I found crop circles in the water and created a short story on that. Then again, the underwater circles could become portals to another world, a fantasy short story? I've written an outline for it already. 2. Has anyone taken a walk along the shoreline lately? Ever see any prints in the sand nearby the sea? Seagulls? Young children and adults? Surf boards, tubes, or dog prints. By my pond, I studied the prints in the sandbar that gathered as the water pulled away from the shore. Recently, I watched the Discovery Channel, particularly the dinosaur series. Extinct dinosaur prints or fossils are found in certain areas of the country. I didn't have to go very far to find my dinosaur prints. They appeared in my sandbar. I wrote up a short story about it. 3. Read any good newspapers lately? You'd be astonished at how many ideas can stimulate your brain and encourage you to write down your thoughts, if nothing else. Two years ago, I found an article in The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH. The article discussed dead animal carcasses and how they provide heat for several weeks after the animals are slaughtered. Food for thought, and I outlined a new method for heating homes. My ridiculousness didn't end there. I created a world where in the far future, dead animals are found on a daily basis. Foissil fuels have long been used, and oil isn't an option anymore. The rulers decided to use the dead animal carcasses and thus saved the world. Yes, I'm still working on that one. 4. How about radio and television? You ever listen closely to what that newscaster is saying? Have you tried to make sense of what he's saying? When you figure it out, write down what you've heard, the ask yourself. What...if...? and go from there. 5. Done any research lately - through the Internet or through the local library? I have found numerous ideas from reading nonfiction books and encyclopedias. I notied in research books, the authors, when explaining particular events, take the information one step further and give you further details that could help you write that next historical novel or that science fiction book, or horror story that lays inches under your subconscious. Two or three ideas for novels and short stories have sprung forth. I write down my ideas, do outlines and put them in a filing cabinet until I'm ready to write them up. 6. Back to those photos or favorite picture. Have you found any, yet? When you're on vacation or taking an airplane, train, or car, try and imagine scenes that might take place in the future, in the past when planes went through great changes. Imagine how your grandparents or great grandparents reacted to this kind of novelty. Getting inspired? Not yet, you say. There are other ways to stimulate your mind. Inspiration sometimes comes at awkward times. 1. Driving the car. Keep your pen and paper handy. At traffic lights, or waiting in traffic is an excellent time to write down your thoughts or keywords, so when you arrive at your destination, you can extrapolate a bit further and you don't lose the thought entirely. 2. Sleeping. I often find that unassociated thoughts come to me when I'm asleep, or worse yet, when I try to sleep. I keep that pen and pad handy 24/7. You never know what your subconscious mind is telling you. It's best to be prepared. Even dreams and/or nightmares can shock you into jotting notes down. 3. In the middle of performances whether in the theatre or a movie, your random thoughts invade your consciousness, while listening. During intermission, write down those ideas and when you get home, hurriedly write them down, then go to bed. You'll never know when your inspirational muse will step forward. It doesn't mean that your writer's block is gone. It may take several weeks, several months or even several years before your muse come back full time. Remember this quote: "Writing is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration." You have heard it all before; an anonymous quote thrown at you when complaining of not being able to write. Even if you can't purge your muse, you can still write, and that's what inspiration means. To keep in touch with your unconscious and write down your mind's ramblings.
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