Lack of Inspiration? - Let's get inspired!

    Imagine this, you are writing your book, all of a sudden you run out of ideas and don't know what to do... I have some advice to help you get inspired! 

    We all feel uninspired sometimes, am I right? We desperately want to create - to draw, to write, to make music... but, we are not progressing because of the lack of inspiration. Throughout the years I have been writing I found the best solutions to help me get inspired and to get back to my game! 

    All writers have a writer's bloc at some times and we try everything just to get that little image in our heads for the next scene, chapter or even a breakthrough! I want to share some of the tips that I use to get me inspired when I feel like - WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I DO NOW?!  

    

First - Reading

    Reading books is something that is a MUST when writing. If you read, you learn. You learn new words - words that you maybe don't use in your everyday life. Those words may get you inspired! Take this as an example, this is something you may or may not use in your everyday life, but you are certainly familiar with it -  the glass has shattered into small pieces. Simple, right? Think about the glass, think about small pieces of it hitting the floor. Are you getting something else besides the glass? Blood, for example? Do you hear something? Like the bullet hitting the wall or a glass? Do you hear screams? Ha! You got inspired, right? 

    With just one simple sentence you can create a whole image. Imagine what you can do with that image! 

    With all being said, read, whether is it a book, a magazine, a blog... whatever, words get you inspired. But still, don't forget to read books! They are much more important for your writing and for you, besides inspiration!

Books I recommend:

• Before I Go To Sleep - S. J. Watson 
• Demain - Guillaume Musso
• La panthere - Stephanie des Horts
• The House - Danielle Still
• Children of Blood and Bone - Tomi Adeyemi 

There will be more recommendations in the future 😊

Second - Pinterest 

    The name says it all - pin your interests! When I feel stuck and I don't know how my character should look like, or I don't know how to describe the setting they are in, I turn to Pinterest. With a wide range of pictures, I always find something that tickles my inspiration whether it is a setting (place, town, coffee shop...), character, or even sometimes the plot! Pinterest is always there to help when I need creative designs or pictures to get me inspired!

    I would suggest using these key words:

•  character inspiration
• fantasy world
• dark sea
• fantasy art

Third - GO OUT! 

    I know, I know... many writers are introverts, but you don't have to go out with people if you don't feel like it! Go out for a walk, it can be your neighbourhood, a park, downtown, coffee shop, a mall... whatever! If you go out you see people, you see their gestures, you can observe how they walk, how they talk, even how they stand! All of the above can help you with writing.

    Imagine being in a park - nature surrounds you; you hear sounds; you feel the wind; you smell the leaves, the flowers... Everything that you feel you can turn into the page. 

BUT! Don't go out just yet! First, finish this post, then you can go out. 😊

Fourth - Watch Movies and TV Shows

    Movies and TV Shows are a great way of finding inspiration! As I've said, looking at people can help you a lot, but what if you can't go out because it is raining and what if your favourite book store is closed because it is Sunday and you want your inspiration right now? Find a movie or a new TV show to watch! 

    I agree that books are better than movies, there is no doubt, but, I would say that TV shows can be pretty close to books. I, as a writer myself, LOVE BOOKS, but I also love watching TV Shows. I believe that both can be very good at finding inspiration when you need it. 

    I will list some of my favourite TV Shows that may help you in writing as they did help me.

TV Shows: 

• The 100 (There is also a Book) 
• Orphan Black
• Lost 
• Teen Wolf
• Supernatural 
• Vis a Vis - Locked Up
• Society 
• La Casa de Papel - Money Heist 
• El Barco 
• La Chicas del Cable 
• Grey's Anatomy 
• The Big Bang Theory
• The Vampire Diaries 

And many more!

For Movies, I will recommend a few that have helped me. (I watch more TV Shows; therefore, I know more to recommend for inspiration.) 

• Before I Fall - Book and Movie - Author: Lauren Oliver
• The Maze Runner - Book and Movie - Author: James Dashner
• Black Panther - Comic Books and Movie - Author: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 
• Crazy Rich Asians - Book and Movie - Author: Kevin Kwan 
• The Hate You Give - Book and Movie - Author: Angie Thomas 
• The Shawshank Redemption - Book and Movie - Author: Stephen King 

And many more...

Fifth - Listening to Music 

    Believe it or not, listening to music can help you a lot! Of course, if you are that kind of a person (meaning if you like listening to music while working).

When I write a book, I use music to help me, not just to concentrate, but also it helps me to dive into my story as if I am there, with my characters! 

    If it is a sad scene I use a sad song, if it is a fight scene, I use very intense music. 

What can also be very useful is to type GMV in a search bar on YouTube. GMV is a video compiled of clips from various video games with a song. It can be very useful for inspiration, whether you like games or not, because it shows a lot of scenes that can tickle your imagination. 

I would suggest two YouTube Channels - Pandora Journey and Epic Music World. - They don't have GMV content, but they have some great music that can help you with your writing and inspiration!  

Sixth - Playing Games 

    If you are a person who likes playing games, I would recommend this - while playing don't just think about what you are going to do next in the game and just rush through it - think while you are playing; think about the place your character is. Playing games with the open world is so good for writing and I can't stress that enough. Take "Tomb Raider" for an example - if you like writing stories with adventure aspects, like running and salving tasks, this would be a great game for you to explore and also get inspired when you are writing a scene like the ones in the Tomb Raider. So, my advice is READ books and also combine that with visual experience from games, pictures, movies, and TV shows.   

    Some of my favourite games:

• Tomb Raider (Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and the one from 2013)
• Metal Gear Rising 
• Bayonetta
• Devil May Cry (3,4, reboot and 5)
• Blades of Time 
• Detroit Become Human (I haven't played it even do I wanted, but if you like you can watch it on youtube - it is like a movie 😊)
• Castlevania
• The Sims 3 and The Sims 4

There are more great games, whatever you like may help you. 😊

 

     That concludes today's topic. If you want more information on how to write, please make sure to let me know down in the comment section!