See Like a Writer & Write About What You See
Stuck on what to write about and suffering from writer’s block? Then here’s an antidote that might help. Give yourself permission to take time out to look around you. Take a walk. There are writing ideas all over the place. Look around you and be inspired by people, landscapes, objects, animals … the list is endless.
A writer sees beyond face value. The landscape itself holds an abundance of stories. Some people walk by a bush and see a bush. A fiction writer walks by that same bush and sees something looking out back at him. Others imagine what happened around that bush, or wonder about the wee people that call the bush home, or the spirits that once inhabited the branches and roots and endowed it with magic.
Or perhaps the imagination leads a writer to weave stories around the lives of the countless people who walked past that bush during the week, or maybe they think about the unseen ones that have also walked past that same bush. The people we never ever see.
Same scene, different writers, and separate stories.
A nonfiction writer looks at the bush and notices how the plant is growing, where it is growing and why. And what is that plant, its name, they wonder? What are its properties. What is it used for? Is it beneficial to humanity. They see past first glances and notice such things such as color, fruit, if any, shape of leaves, veins, serrated or rounded edges, and all sorts of other questions begin to wind themselves around the brain. Is the plant friendly or hostile or afraid and defensive?
So same bush, different writers and separate unique perspectives, narratives and stories.
Think like the writer that you are. The inspiration for stories abounds, even in fruits and vegetables. Here is one my personal experiences.
Inspired by palm kernels
Gazing upon a bunch of palm nuts one afternoon, the deep rich orangey-red and brown color of the flesh of each palm kernel captivated me. I found myself asking, why does it grow the way it does? I looked at it and marveled, Wow! Look at nature’s beauty in the heart shape of the prickly bunch of palm fruit. It’s heart shape heart led me to thoughts about love and specifically, to the love of The Creator who provides such good food for us.
That’s how writers think when they see, and then they get to work. Writing. Creating.
In my example, I could write about the nature of this plant and delve into everything about palm kernels, palm trees, cultivation, benefits, how to make palm oil, effect of palm tree plantations on the environment, cooking with palm oil, recipes, and so on.
Or, I could take a more philosophical approach and write about the bounty of nature, the importance of taking care of what we have been endowed with, and spiritual matters about God’s creations.
And still yet, I could weave a story about the caretakers of the forest, real or imagined, who reside among and within palm trees.
You see? Writers, published or not, can’t help themselves. They see and write.
It’s natural. They’re always thinking of writing, even if not consciously; observing all the time and writing stories in their mind. How many times has it happened to you? You’re reading something and find yourself changing the scenery in your mind, or re-writing the dialogue, or re-imagining the story going this way, or that way?
So those things are little bits of inspiration for you. Just look all around you and wonder.
I guess that’s it really – curiosity and wonder are crucial to inspiration.
Save this article and the next time you get stuck, read it again and then give yourself permission to take a walk. Look around you and be inspired.
If you have enjoyed reading this post and found it helpful, you might be interested in reading my other articles, Don’t Wait To Feel Inspired: Tips to Get You Writing When You Don’t Feel Like It and Not Sure What To Write About, Then You’ve Missed A Step and Why Writing By Hand First Can Help You Write Better.
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