Maybe you know how it is, sitting there, waiting for inspiration to strike? If you’re anything like me, it isn’t until your eyes start glazing over, that you realise what the problem is: you’re waiting for inspiration to come to you, instead of actively seeking inspiration out.
I can’t say I’ve taken to carrying a notepad around with me, secreted away in a jacket pocket, just waiting to overhear a snippet of someone else’s conversation-in-transit or that I’m hurriedly typing into my phone’s Notes app, trying to catch a thought as it momentarily flits through my awareness. (And I should probably spring for one of those waterproof notepads for #showerthoughts!) No, what I do, is I create a ‘swipe file’. And I fill it with anything I encounter: posters, photos, and paintings; advertisement headlines; unique phrases in the body copy of a newspaper or magazine article or essay, which cause me to pause, and to think, “Now that’s interesting.”
I add to this ‘swipe file’ regularly. And you know what? 99 times out of 100, it helps me to “get the fire lit”. Then, there are other times, where the match won’t light. In those times, what works for me is to put my focus onto something, or someone, else. To get outside and take a walk to, or through, somewhere I enjoy spending time. If I’m lucky, I’ll cross paths with someone sitting on a bench, and I’ll strike up a conversation if they’re open to having a chat. (Small talk is the beginning of most friendships, after all. And no one is this world is so vapid that you can’t share a human connection between yourselves.)
The key to writing good stories is to be open to new experiences; to have curiosity about a place, or its people. As every writer knows: we’re writing about people. And to create a cast of believable characters in anything we write, requires us to meet, to empathise, and to be non-judgmental with as many unique people as we possibly can.
Who, and what we pay attention to, is all ‘grist for the mill’ which churns over, and over, (and over…) in our minds. Giving ‘the mill’ something new to churn – a fresh perspective, say, from a new friend – deepens our breadth of knowledge, and encourages us to see things in a different light. So, if a glimpse through your ‘swipe file’ doesn’t spark your creativity, get outside and get talking. If there’s not a park bench nearby, anywhere with a spare seat next to someone with a friendly face will do.
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