4 Ways to Find Writing Inspiration

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post called “How to Get Ideas for a Story” (which you can find here). And while looking over it I saw that, while I had mentioned four ways to get ideas (through praying, plotting worksheets, and through characters/plot lines in other books/movies) I left out several other major ways of garnering inspiration and ideas for your writing. So today’s post will focus on places you can go and things you can do to help find some inspiration.

Maybe you’re struggling with formulating a new idea. Maybe you’re stuck in the middle and have no inspiration to write the scene you know you need to write. Maybe you have writer’s block. (See my post here for more of what to do when writer’s block hits.) Regardless of the issue, these are four more ways to find writing inspiration.

#1: Listen to Music

This is my all time inspirational tip. Listen to music as you write, or even as you are thinking and planning the next scene you want to write. Many times, music can help you further visualize the scene and set the tone to it. So find a song that fits the vibe you want in your scene (happy, romantic, tense, sad, etc) and try to write/imagine your scene. I would recommend instrumental/movie soundtrack pieces rather than word music since sometimes the words can get distracting, but if you know of a word song that fits your scene/character perfectly, go for it!

Don’t know any music to try? Search up Thomas Bergersen, Two Steps from Hell, Fox Sailor, Audiomachine, Peter Crowley, and HDSounDI on Youtube for a variety of different songs with different vibes. And write down the song names as well as who did them, on the off chance that you want to go back to them again or so if a certain channel removes them, you can find it on a different one.

#2: Pictures, Drawings, and Faceclaims

Another way many people have gotten inspiration is through images. Maybe the picture of a snowy field or a large metropolitan city could inspire someone with an idea. Or maybe they see a drawing or picture of a person that looks like their character. Sometimes having fun and making book, setting, and/or character collages can also stir the creative juices. While I predominantly get my inspiration from words rather than pictures, I know of a couple of images which gave me inspiration for a character and their looks and clothing style, a story concept, and even an entire plot.

I personally use Pinterest to find these images, but you can also look on Google and other free picture places. You can find my Author Pinterest here to see the images that helped inspire my story, settings, and characters, and ways in which you can order and organize them on Pinterest.

#3: Quotes and Writing Prompts

Similar to the above, quotes and writing prompts can also help inspire a story. Maybe a certain quote leaves you wanting to write a story around it, or reminds you of a character of yours. Maybe a writing prompt will give you an idea to take your story in a direction you never considered. Either way, these are some great things to get inspiration from.

On my personal Pinterest, I have a board called Writing Aids, and inside of it, a sub-board called Writing Prompts. Check it out here for some super cool writing prompts (and let me know if you use any of them, because I’ll want to hear all about your concept)!

#4: Historical Events

And finally, my favorite. Historical events. There are so many way to use historical events in your writing, whether or not the time period event fits. For example, the concept of the American Revolution can be used in a historical novel, dystopian, fantasy, sci-fi, even romance. A colony of people rebel against their unfair masters/government/bosses–you name it!–and even though they are the underdogs, fighting against the most powerful force in their world, they win.

Or maybe you are really interested in Princess Diana. You could style a character off of her and some of the events of her life; have your character marry a prince or other popular person, and be an icon and an activist.

Or maybe you just like one certain event which happened in someone’s life or a historical event, such as the storming of the Bastille in the French Revolution, or King Henry VIII’s romance with Anne Boleyn. You can take some facts about these events and write them into your own novel, regardless of genre. Many of my own ideas have come from historical events, several of them being some of my favorite scenes and concepts.

---

I hope some of these four tips help you find some inspiration for your story! What is the way you most find your inspiration? Have you used any historical events for inspiration for a scene? Do you listen to music as you write? Let me know in the comments below! God bless! ~ Kay Adelin