There you sit, looking at the blinking line, and you wonder, “How the hell do artists or writers or bloggers do it? How do they come up with new material every time they sit down in front of a blank page?”
Where or where does their or your inspiration come from?
Are you like me and sometimes you feel that you’ve tapped the idea well dry and you’re just repeating yourself?
Again…again…again…and again?
Repeating the same old pattern.
Or do you ever have that ‘been there, done that’ feeling and hope somehow you can make it (whatever it is) sound different?
Worse yet, you think to yourself, ‘but…that person did it better than me…I can never compete with their ability to create’!
We’re not all great artists like the ones who painted the Sistine Chapel. But they started somewhere. They layered paint upon paint as their ideas created beauty.
I’ve never been there, but I can imagine it is awe-inspiring. In pictures I’ve seen I often wonder, what it was that inspired them to want to paint all those scenes in the manner that they chose? How did they start? How long did it take them? How did they tie all the pieces together, ‘cuz you know there’s no way in hell they painted it all in one day?!
There must have been a lot of mess, and mixed scenes as they made each layer come to life. But as they worked through each one, they identified pieces of gold, blue, aqua, teal, even turquoise as they painted bits of each historical scene, eventually forming a vision of clarity.
When you’re stuck on where to start, all it takes is a moment or two of reflection to see you still have creativity inside of you. It’s just waiting to appear.
Identify your layers, do you want to start with the sky and see how your ideas branch out from there? What is in the background that inspires you? See anything solid there to use?
Just look around. There is material every where. Let the clouds and the silhouettes and the changing hues of colors talk to you. Let the mood of the scene move you into action.
Look out the window, what looks different today? Look for layers of inspiration.
The best way to predict the future is to create it. – Abraham Lincoln
Don’t let that blinking line scare you away. Always start…don’t give up, play with the background of what you see, add some clouds, with patterns, and colors, and let nature’s beauty guide you. If you do, you can’t go wrong, you’ll be inspired to break away from the blinking line and you’ll write or photograph something or BOTH!!
Most of all – HAVE FUN!!
Post Inspiration – August Break 2018 – Window; Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge Teal, Aqua, or Turquoise; Word of the Day Tuesday Photo Challenge Patterns and special thanks to Frank at Dutch Goes the Photo – Round up 123 – Scene in History. Not only did he take the time to create a prompt for this week, he shared all of the blog entries from the week before, wrote something nice about each blogger’s post, and he shared their links again! WOW! That is awesome! Thank you Frank! That takes creativity, energy, and time. He built something great out of what was right in front of him – inspiration from others who had been there before and saw their scenes in a unique way.
PS – Did you check out Dutch Goes the Photo…were you inspired too? What do you do to get past the blinking line? What is your favorite way to get started on writing? How about your photos, how do you find something new in old familiar places?
Wow lovely collection of photos and very useful advice, thanks so much!
Thank you, Kate! I love your photos for the pattern prompt – so inviting!
thank you so much Shelley 🙂
I love that quote by Lincoln. I used it in the Sketchbook I made. I do sometimes think that I have “written about that before” or used that same picture but then I think that maybe someone missed it the first time or that I’ve (hopefully) gotten some new followers that may not have seen it the first time. Nice post Shelley!
Thank you, Janet! You’re right, we can’t assume that someone new stopping by has seen what we said before – and we can add a bit of newness to it while we’re at it. You’re always so great at finding creative ways to write your posts – I appreciate them and thank you for stopping by to share your feedback!
Yes to the mess–and the layers upon layers. All it takes is one word to start one layer. Also, I like to remember that all writing isn’t done on the page (or screen). We have to get out and live to be inspired, first. Sometimes a little writer’s slump, means the tank is empty and we need to live a little more to fill it!
Excellent tips, Rebecca! You’re so right – living life is what feeds us and our creativity, we all benefit when we do just that – live it! Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Those clouds are amazing!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the pictures!
“Always start.” Words to live by.
Ah, yes, that blinking line…the starting line right? just waiting for the starting shout…GO!…If only!
Sometimes I look at writing as peeling an onion. The first time is just surface stuff. Peel that off and write again to go deeper. More intense. And so on. I can’t claim to take credit for that analogy – as I think I heard it somewhere. But it stuck. Your paint layering imagery sounds more pleasant though 🙂
I am inspired by music – certain songs, certain artists, certain albums can really loosen the creative knot – especially once I get started on something personal. Mmm….maybe I should write about that.
In 1995 I bought a hardcover copy of a novel by Joyce Maynard (“Where Love Goes”) – that came with a CD “soundtrack” of songs that she listened to while writing the book. Some songs were mentioned in the book and others were her favorite love songs that related to the story’s theme. The idea of music + writing originated there for me. I loved the book and the music…double bonus!
Photos work too – it’s one of the reasons I am enjoying the Dutch Goes the Photo challenges.
That’s is awesome that you’ve found what music inspires you to write. I tend to like the peace and quiet to write or soft music without words. My favorite music for writing is opening my window and listening to the sounds of the crickets and the early morning songbirds. Joyce would be touched that you’ve kept that treasure as inspiration all these years! Yes, Dutch Goes the Photo challenge is great! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on inspiration! PS – love your take on the lift prompt – so cool that you had the picture from 35 years before! https://oneletterup.com/ Nice job!
Thank you!