By Kathleen Moulton
Some writers are inspired by watching people. Others are inspired within their own imagination (where Sci-Fi just has to come from!) Still others draw inspiration from uncovering information in other times and places. And only hearing a word can spark a title and an idea for a novel.
Me? I am inspired by nature. No, I am exhilarated!
Recently, I was talking to my son, who is a Border Patrol Agent in Texas. I was telling him I woke up that morning hearing a cardinal.
“You heard it?”
He thought it was strange that I would know what a cardinal sounded like.
I had been trying to bring cardinals to the feeder for a few years. When I heard it, I bounded out of bed, grabbed my camera, and peered out the window. I’ve also been known to slip on a pair of boots donning only a cami and sweatpants, and crunch along the snowy yard to capture frozen, crystal droplets hanging on branches. I can’t help it. The sun makes them so beautiful!
Yup, that’s how much I love nature. I’m just wired that way.
I often use the beauty (and the not-so-pretty) outdoors to connect with a point I make in my writing. The visual touches me so deeply and it pushes the words I have inside out on paper.
What inspires you? Soak in it. Allow it to take you places you thought you could never go. Something is resonating inside you and you may not even be aware of it. We’re so busy with our heads down and focused on accomplishing our goals that if we’re not careful, we can miss our uniqueness that will make writing easy. Everyone is different. We can learn from each other but sometimes we learn too much and find that we are trying to imitate what works for someone else.
We’re all inspired by nature to a certain degree, but don’t necessarily think my inspiration will be yours. What is in you will find its way out. It’s quite a natural process that will suddenly occur to you.
Discover yourself!
~~~~~~~~~
Kathleen Moulton is a freelance writer and nature lover. She is married, has 8 children, ages 10-28, and has been homeschooling for 25 years. You can find her passion to bring encouragement and hope to people of all ages at http://kathleenmoulton.com/
