How To Get Inspiration For Writing A Book

Reading a book is a day to day activity but have you ever wondered how so many stories are floating around us? How do writers get inspiration for writing a book? Well, it’s the life around us which inspires not only writers but so many people around us. Life is full of surprises both pleasant, gratifying and invidious moments. These moments are worth inspiring oneself and others around us. Inspiration can be drawn from anywhere in life be it an incident, a story, a picture, a location, a movie, a song, a conversation, etc. An author’s perspective is the key in this aspect. What seems ordinary to one author may be a life changing and life moving incident for the other. This perspective drives us differently and helps in adapting to the society and world around us while maintaining one’s individuality.

But is it easy to write a book on an incident or a moment? Well, not that easy to answer. Sometimes an incident or a picture or a moment may not leave a lasting impression on the author’s mind despite the fact it holds emotions and values. Like the first day of your child going to school, your first salary, your first exam in school, your first audition, your first kiss, etc. all these situations are special yet they may or maynot be translated into a book. So, how to get inspiration for writing a book then?

The genesis of inspiration tales are never ending. So it’s the writer who knows exactly what moves him, motivates and inspires him to pen down his thoughts in the form of a book on the basis of that inspiration source. But before you think “how to get inspiration for writing a book?” It’s important to brush up on your writing skills, do some research work and then go ahead to look for new ideas to get inspired.

For this an author needs lots of practice even if you are a fresher, regular writing practice is a must. The reason for this is the fact that if an author is practicing then he knows which moment or incident has the potential to become a book. As a book is not about a few hundred words. It’s about storytelling which is an elaborate art. So, now the question arises if a writer wants to get inspired or is looking for new inspiration ideas then what should be done?  Well, then he needs to move out of his comfort zone and travel far or near to see what’s around him. A writer can go on vacations to different locations this will help in to explore the culture and lifestyle of the new places. A writer may start a new programme (Podcast or live Shows) where he can interact with common people, talk to them,  answer their queries or just chat about any topic of choice.

Such changes in a writer’s routine not only break monotony but also help in filling up his mind with new thoughts and ideas by seeing and meeting new people. These interactions refill the lack of creativity and motivation when a writer is in self doubt.

Here are some of the key points on “How to get inspiration for writing a book?”

1. Keep writing and write anything:

The first and foremost thing any writer should do is to keep practicing and refining his skills on a daily basis. This helps in better construction of dialogues, better use of vocabulary, better pace of writing, etc. As writing is a creative skill so the options of expressing in this medium are also limitless. A writer can write in different formats, genre, language and style. This can lead in exploring new languages and thus new ideas or text will be available for writing and reading too. Therefore a writer can expand his work to different places and people also.

2. Keep reading:

There is a common myth in common man’s mind that writers only write. In fact a good writer reads more, as reading more and more helps in opening up his mind about new thoughts and ideas about various topics and issues. What a writer wants to read is a personal choice. It may vary from fiction to nonfiction, from journal to travel, beauty to comedy, romance to drama options are never ending. Reading also helps in familiarizing the different styles of writing by different authors. So it also helps in lifting up the competitive spirit within the writers community.

3. Watch Documentaries, Movies, and Videos:

If a writer doesn’t have too much spare time to go on vacations or travel then what he/she should do? Then in such a case digital platforms can be a big help. Watching videos on youtube or watching movies on OTT are quick ways to access some fresh ideas and break the jinxed thought which stops writers from writing in some situations.

4. Travel and explore:

This is one of the most applied formulas for getting inspiration as well as exploring the world around us and the world inside us too. But the catch here is, try to reach out to a new destination or places where you have never been before or where you always wanted to go. Traveling helps in unfolding the ideas and thoughts with scenic beauty if you are writing a romantic novel. It can help you in writing about various cultures and customs with their significance if you are a travel writer. Meeting new interesting and unique people is also another aspect of traveling that helps in sketching different types of characters for stories. At times the lifestyle, clothes, mannerism, etc can inspire a writer to write a similar character for his story. So, pack your bags and see the world around you.

5. Observe carefully what’s around you:

Sometimes the most unique and at times bizarre ideas can hit you when you are just observing things around you. It can include watching how a seedling is growing to a small plant. (Then how a writer compares it to his growing days) or it may be just watching pictures or at the sky, rainbow, etc and using these references in your work to describe the story setting. If we think then everything to anything has the capacity to inspire. As everyone has a different perception towards life and its expression.

The genesis of inspiration tales are never ending. So it’s the writer who knows exactly what moves him, motivates and inspires him to pen down his thoughts in the form of a book on the basis of that inspiration source.

Book Inspiration Ideas

Human mind in itself has elaborate functioning capacity but at times even it goes through a brain fag. That means the ideas which an author thinks to pen down seem insipid and worthless. In such a state of mind writing something interesting is a challenge. Stories are never ending because every story has new settings, characters, dialogues, style, diction, etc. That’s why so many books are present around us in the same genre be it romance, horror, comedy, biography, adventure, drama, etc. So to overcome this challenge we present you some ideas that can become Book inspiration ideas, they are as follows:

1. Lookout for mythological reads, they are great source of inspiration –

Mythology has been one of the most fascinating genres for any creative person to draw inspiration as the characters are larger than life, representing various cultures and their importance. Popular with both young and old generations across the globe. Helps in drawing inspiration for creating nonfiction yet emotionally connected characters. Some mythologies are connected to the history of a place also.

2. Visit Books/videos on historical events –

Real historic events have been a constant source of inspiration for writers across the world. They not only inspire and motivate but at times reveal new facts and findings about the event too with the help of research. For example incidents like World War 1 & 2, Nuclear attacks on Hiroshima & Nagasaki, romance between historical figures, any invention by a famous historic personality, etc.

3. Journals, documentaries must be included in any writers reading list —

Well, we all know that documentaries and journals are a great source of knowledge and an invaluable addition to your thought and writing process. They help us in asking why and how, what if this happened or what if this would not have happened? So, who knows that next time you are reading a journal or watching a documentary could inoculate the seed of your best seller.

4. Test your short stories –

Sometimes it is a good practice to read your own work because it may help you to revive the same story with a new twist or same characters into a new situation. This can help in creating new editions or series of your stories. The other way round is also possible, an author can write a short story on his idea and then test it in the market and if the response is in the favor of the story, then it can help the author to write more as a continuation of the same story.

5. Interact with other authors both online and offline –

Interaction with the same professional colleagues always makes an author aware of the new trends, ideas and intricacy of the work field. This also helps in exchanging new ideas and thoughts with feedback from other authors about your work. As they say both criticism and appreciation is crucial for growth in any field. So, go out, grab a drink or plan a zoom meet and start interacting with the community of writers to rejuvenate your mind with fresh and new ideas.

6. Never fear to Experiment —

Experimentation is the key to achieve something new or which has not been done before. For example using a constraint method of writing, author Georges Perec, wrote an entire novel without using the alphabet ‘e’.

Suggested Read – Movies To Inspire Authors

7. Learn new activities or art form —

One creative form nurtures the other as human activities are always interconnected. Like for a writer learning a new language, traveling, reading, etc helps immensely in defining his own art. So it is necessary to learn something new so that one can discover new things in life as human beings and can incorporate that experience in his writing.

8. Listen to Your inner voice —

Well at the end of the day all depends on the perception of an individual be it a writer or a painter or a designer. It’s the inner voice of a writer which compels him/her to narrate thoughts and ideas in the form of a text that later becomes a book. If a writer is 100% sure of his choice then no topic or subject will fail as it will connect to people who will read that story. It’s the job of a writer to make his readers believe that what he is writing exists be it fiction or nonfiction.

So, now we have some clear ideas on how to get inspiration for writing a book? So if you think you also have a story which can connect to people, start practicing before you finally hit the bookshelves of a bookstore. Your inspiration may lie in you or in another person or some other form of life, who knows? So start exploring and let those inquisitive minds work for some memorable books to be written for the future.