Creativity in the Atmosphere?
Last week, Stephen and I went to Breckenridge, Colorado. It’s “mud season” up there right now, which means that it’s too late to ski (though it did snow) and not warm enough yet for the summer activities.
While we were there, Stephen did a lot of bicycling, and while he cycled, I got my laptop out, sat next to the window, and wrote while the mountains looked down on me. One of the best things about being on vacation is the luxury of time to sit and write in the middle of the day, but, even more important, I’ve noticed that being somewhere new, especially somewhere beautiful, gets my muse working overtime.
And this is not the first time I’ve noticed my surroundings affecting my creativity. Sedona, Muir Woods, the beach on South Padre Island… All of those locations either inspired stories, moved me to write, or got characters moving in my head. And we don’t even have to be on vacation. I get some of my best writing done when we visit my parents’ cabin in the “wilds” of central Texas. That cabin and the surrounding tableaux have popped up in at least two short stories, and I always get good writing time in there.
I wonder why this happens. Is it just being out of my usual routine that brings my muse to life? Or is it nature’s majesty that I find so inspiring? Or maybe a combination of both? I don’t know, but I do know that it’s definitely something to take advantage of.
And, speaking of taking advantage, today is my last day off, so I’d better get a little more work done on the story I started while we were in Colorado. The market that I want to send it to has a deadline coming up in just a few days. Yipes!
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Indeed. Hemingway said that if a writer couldn’t write in Paris, he’d never be able to write; and Chuck Palahniuk said he has to write in public places or he feels unstimulated. I’ve written successfully in coffee shops and math classrooms before, and once poolside in Vietnam. So I feel ya.
Actually, no sooner did I post that comment, then I stumbled across this article: http://thefix-online.com/features/get-out-of-the-house/
Most of his articles are pretty good. Recommended!
Interesting article. Thanks for the link! The retreat away from home in a beautiful place with no cell phones sounded like heaven!
Maybe that needs to be a rule for all vacations. Then again, maybe that won’t work.
Yeah, getting out of the house definitely helps me, even if it’s just a trip with my iBook to Panera or Spiral.
Woo-hoo write-ins! I like getting out of the house with writer friends, too. Something about all those creative minds working at the same time…