If the first rule of writing is "writers write" then a close second is "writers read".
I haven't been reading. Sure, there are reasons--too busy, don't want to use it to procrastinate, haven't found a book I love, and so on--but for the past few days getting my 2,000 words a day for NaNoWriMo has been like an exercise in self-torture.
Yesterday I had one of those 'light bulb' moments where I realized my problem might be that I haven't read enough, so I downloaded a book from my local library and started reading. Or, to be precise, listening.
Perhaps I shouldn't admit this, but I stayed up till 7 am listening to that book! I just couldn't stop. I think my muse was starving.
Nurturing Your Muse
This is why, for my second post today, I want to talk about ways to nurture the muse within us all.
The following is from a post over at The Creativity Post called 101 Tips on How to Become More Creative by Michael Michalko.
1. Take a walk and look for something interesting.I hope your muse is well-fed and willing to help spin your tales! If you have any tips you'd like to add, please do. :-)
3. Open a dictionary and find a new word. Use it in a sentence.
6. Create the dumbest idea you can.
7. Ask a child.
10. Create an idea that will get you fired.
11. Read a different newspaper. If you read the Wall Street Journal, read the Washington Post.
14. What is your most bizarre idea?
15. List all the things that bug you.
16. Take a different route to work.
22. Doodle
24. Go for a drive with the windows open. Listen and smell as you drive.
40. Daydream.
50. Eat spaghetti with chopsticks.
51. Make the strange familiar.
52. Make the familiar strange.
55. Wear purple underwear for inspiration
63. When you wake write down everything you can remember about your dreams.
69. Talk to a stranger.
75. Change your daily routines. If you drink coffee, change to tea.
85. Learn to tolerate ambiguity.
86. What have you learned from your failures? What have you discovered that you didn’t set out to discover?
87. Make connections between subjects in different domains. Banking + cars = drive in banking.
90. Hang out with people from diverse backgrounds.
96. Sit outside and count the stars.
99. Cut out interesting magazine and newspaper pictures. Then arrange and paste them on a board making a collage ...
Other articles you might like:
- For NaNoWriMo: 10 HarperCollins Books On Writing For $1.99 Each
- Writers: How To Use Permanently Free Books To Increase Sales
- The Nature of Creativity: Science And Writing: Don't Edit Yourself
Photo credit: "untitled" by 416style under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.
