It happens to everyone in every creative situation, when the brain’s reception to the Muse goes static and the imagination is full of fuzz. Of course, the days of broadcast television and wiggling aerials are long expired, but for those of you who still remember standing on top of the furniture so Dad can watch the baseball game, listen up. For those fresh, young bloods, I suggest imagining a radio or a cell phone ‒ nearly the same thing. Sometimes one needs to move around to get the best reception. Likewise, one needs to move around to unblock the flow of creative juices.
By moving around, I mostly mean traveling. I know that some people strongly believe that exercise stimulates the brain and even profess that it makes one smarter, but I would go deeper and say that a change of scene stimulates the brain. It doesn’t have to be an enormous change of scene; you don’t have to travel to Paris or Honolulu (although that would be amazing) to refresh creativity. It could be as simple as walking in a park. I would suggest, however, to do nothing else, no ipod droning out the birdsong with Nirvana, no texting your friends about how miserable you are because you have no new ideas and life is such a bore. I would suggest putting all your personal dramas aside a moment and opening your senses to everything going on around you, filling your brain with all the facts and information being blown at you. That kid wants an ice cream but his flustered mother says to wait for lunch. Neapolitan ice cream sandwich, wood chip mud pie… ah the tastes and smells of childhood. That guy is flirting with the girl practicing soccer. Her ponytail bounces as she kicks the ball. His ears turn red as he clumsily misses her pass. I wonder what sorts of wishes were thrown into that fountain in the form of pennies and how many ever came true… You’ll be amazed by what a difference new sensations and experiences make and how they’ll churn about in your mind like a minestrone soup. You’ll be even more surprised how, after your stroll in the park, you come home to write a serial on the little blue men with trumpets for mouths prancing on the planet Neptune. How the hell did that come out of the park?
I find it works best to really travel, travel to exotic places where you don’t understand the language or are familiar with the customs, to improve your reception with the Muse, but who has the opportunity for that? I, for one, feel like all my best writing was inspired by my travels through Italy, Switzerland and Paris. In fact, I do believe it was my first trip to England at ten years old that started me off as a writer. I’ve been fortunate enough to have these experiences, but I believe it is within anyone’s power to free themselves up to a change of scene and thus open to inspiration. There is a wealth of ideas out there waiting to be found and nurtured, the question is looking for them.
What inspires you?
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