Art as Inspiration

Frog Lake--a place that inspires me

I recently read BELLE EPOQUE by Elizabeth Ross. One of the interesting things about that story was that one of the characters, Paul, went to the Louvre museum when he was stuck. Here’s how he explains it: “I’m a musician, and when I’m stuck with composing I like to plunge into another art form. . .I enjoy looking at paintings. It reminds me that others also toil to create.” (BELLE EPOQUE, Elizabeth Ross) That got me thinking about how I get inspired when I’m stuck.

Like Paul, I find that art recharges me.  Of course, reading novels or watching films are inspiring, but I do that all the time. Here are some things that really “fill me up” as a writer:

Theater: Watching a play, seeing the characters convey emotion through their body language, voice and pitch inspires me. Seeing actors live, rather than on a screen, has more immediacy. Perhaps it’s because it’s in real time…perhaps I feel like an actor as I create voice for my own characters.

Art: I have only taken a few art classes, which I loved. But looking at art and creating it, which I don’t do often enough, inspires me. One of the things I learned in art class is that it’s not about talent so much as being able to see rightly—how many shades of green do you see in that forest? Writing, too, is all about seeing rightly and conveying what you see clearly.

Music: I recently listened to a classical music program called THE SCORE, where the host, Edmund Stone, interviews composers of screenplays. I loved listening to these musicians’ processes, especially how they used certain instruments and styles to convey emotion. As a writer, we need to think about tone and mood and motifs—all things present in music. 

Nature: Being out in nature inspires me; it is art on a grand scale. I recently read the picture book LUCY MAUDE MONTGOMERY : The Author of Anne of Green Gables (Alexander Wallner). In it, she says about L.M. Montgomery: “Her best friend, however, was nature… like magic to her.” Nature reminds me that the small details, which Montgomery captured so well in her work, allow readers to feel like they are living in the story.

What inspires you as writer when you get stuck? Please share!