We go through this rhythm as writers and artists–that of taking in and then purging or rather creating.
Reading fiction and also poetry, visiting museums, listening to music–all of these activities are the various wells from which we draw water and replenish our unconscious.
Without engaging them we run dry.
It is easy to get caught up in the business and busy-ness of creating our art, writing our stories and forget that our imagination needs nurturing.
How we care for our bodies, resting, eating, getting an adequate amount of sleep for not simply rest, but also dreaming is important.
When was the last time you viewed a painting, let a piece of music take you away? When was the last time you took a walk, went hiking, or swimming?
The act of writing is solitary and sedentary. We settle our minds to catch hold of our thoughts.
And yet our bodies need rhythm. Like our soul is drawn to music, our fingers and hearts, our toes, arms and thighs need movement. This gets the juices flowing towards ideas and directions them into places yet uncovered.
Our bodies are the temples of the most, hallowed places in which we dwell and bring forth our artistry. They also house our creativity and inspiration, wherein we mete out our stories.
What detours from writing have you taken lately?
When was the last time you stepped away from the computer, laid down your pen or pencil and took rest?
I read pretty much every day of the week. I listen to different types of music and every Thursday I listen to poetry on the radio. I allow my mind to be stimulated by all the different things like watching the animals outside (more than just your every day cats and dogs).
As writers we must continually feed the muse. And much of that food is as you have listed, listening to music, reading other literary genres such as poetry, watching plays and examining the screenplays underneath the movies we see. You too, like me, love watching movies of the books we’ve read. And of course being in nature.
Animals stimulate the unconscious in myriad of ways.
Thanks so much.