On Niggling Writing Inspirations

It’s strange.

Our greatest inspirations come, sometimes, from things other people miss.

A sparked question in a book, unanswered.

A gorgeous book cover that, for some reason, doesn’t seem to match the inside contents.

A wording error someone makes when talking, that nags at you (but in the good ‘ooh this is something’ kind of way).

Oftentimes, we like to think that writing is grand. That inspiration and ideas spark in a great collision of brainwaves (and sometimes it does, but more often than that, it’s more the case when ideas are already semi-formed). To get to that point, it’s in weird little things in your day such as the above, or a weird ‘what if’ question that rattles about your head, or throwaway comments in a conversation you’re having or overhear.

At least, I feel that’s how most of my ideas are formed, and the ones I feel are actually best. Those I have to force, perhaps they feel too much.

If someone’s struggling for inspiration, I’d want to tell them this:

To go outside without your headphones on. No music playing. Hide your phone at the bottom of your bag.

Just walk.

Your brain will chat away to you, and that’s ideal. You want it to do that.

For some time, it might chat to you about the weirdest or most boring things. Like do you need to replace the kettle, or that annoying thing someone said to you the other day that nags at you (and how dare they), or worries about jobs or money.

Let it happen. Eventually it will chat itself out of you, and you’ll get odd sparks in your head.

Oh, that’s a cool view of the bridge. (I’m a sucker for moss and mildew creeping over stone structures. I think it’s great for some kind of book setting.)

Or I wonder if …

It starts small, but these are the things you need. The little snatches of ideas and inspirations.

You’ll find yourself untangling thoughts and plots. Characters becoming clearer. Plotholes filling themselves in. All of that good writing/planning stuff we need and often can’t have when our heads are packed to the brim with other daily things.

Take a notebook with you. I know, I know. You have your phone; you could write on there. But hear me out. Because writing in the notebook will give you a flow that feels far more natural, and it’s quieter and calmer and won’t distract you with ‘oh, that email … damn I have to do that thing … what was I on here for again?’

It happens to us all. Just grab a notebook and write things down. You’ll find that when you get used to it, all of this happens so much more fluently and naturally, and you feel way more creative, anyway, with a notebook than a phone.

Write all these little niggling thoughts.

I wanted to know about this thing in X book, but the author never brought it up again. And it was such a good line of thought!

Hmm. I wonder if I could use it in Y concept I’ve been thinking about …

You’ll find many of these connections do match up. And it’s really cool when it does. That’s when the grand explosion of ideas happens. The one they all thing we get naturally.

Ideas come in the small daily things, and often in forms of moving meditation. Like walking, washing up, hoovering, showering. I know they’re often seen as boring empty moments, but that’s the time we need for our brain to wonder.

Let it.