6 non-writing hobbies that can still inspire your writing

If you’re a writer, you probably have, amongst others, two main hobbies; writing and reading. Though, for many of you, writing is not just a hobby, but a career. A lot of us are still thriving to get there. But we all have other hobbies and interests too, and these can be just as important to our creative writing adventures. Here are just six that can inspire you:

Yoga
I’ve put this one first, because it’s new for me. I started practising yoga a couple of months ago, with the sole purpose of hoping the stretches would help with my chronic pain. It was certainly not in my thoughts, that this should become a creative outlet for me. And yet, it’s become that. It is peaceful, and relaxing, and I’ve found thoughts and ideas and inspiration bursting into my mind out of the blue.

Other Exercise
It’s not just relaxing exercises like yoga that can fire up your creative brain. All forms of exercise give you energy, which’ll get your creativity flowing. This can be especially true for walking, surrounded by the outdoors, taking in the beauty (or lack of!) in your surroundings.

Art
Writing is an art, but there’s many other art forms that can inspire your stories. Drawing, painting, photography, amongst many others. These all encourage you to pay attention to detail, to capture emotion and atmosphere within a still picture. In art, you bring the inanimate to life, just as with writing.

Watching television/movies
Ever feel guilty when you spend your time watching television instead of writing? Well don’t. First things first, enjoying yourself is never a waste of time. And secondly, television and movies are full of stories. You’ll develop a knowledge for how stories are told, how they develop and they are structured. You’ll learn things you may not have previously known, and you’ll hear real life stories to inspire your work, and making sure it’s authentic and relatable.

Listening to music
Songs tell stories, music builds atmosphere. Do you ever hear a song that could be the soundtrack to your story? That you can imagine your characters listening to? Or do you envelop yourself in instrumental numbers that make your emotions swell and your brain ignite?  Either way, listening to music can be a great cause of inspiration.

Travelling
There’s not a lot of this going on right now, but travelling is an incredible source of inspiration. You’ll discover new places, eat new foods, meet new people. But this isn’t just about vacations. You can travel in your own country, for me even the act of sitting on a train inspires my imagination. And in these tough times, being a tourist in your home town might even be enough to flare your mind.

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Do you have any hobbies that inspire your writing? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

Until then,
Keep writing,
M
x

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