I’ve always liked the idea of a well of inspiration. Any place you go to for inspiration, whether you’re just starting out brainstorming or hit a rut in your writing path, is a well of inspiration.
This past month, I was given an assignment in my math class to create a survey and make a pie chart out of the answers. I thought it would be interesting to see what wells of inspiration other young writers frequent, and the results did not disappoint!
Music had the most votes, which doesn’t surprise me since I also listen to a lot of music while writing. I think the fact that music had the most votes shows how powerful music is. It has a huge impact on both emotions and the imagination. Music is also abundant in our modern age. That, paired with its variety and accessibility, makes it a rich well of inspiration for any genre.
What did surprise me was how few votes Books got. One of the biggest pieces of advice young writers are given is to read a lot of books, especially in their genre. That said, you would think writers would get a lot of inspiration from books. I’m sure some do, and it’s possible that my small selection was made up of writers (like myself) who don’t follow that advice as well as they could. The other explanation I could think of is that writers prefer to draw inspiration from other wells to ensure their writing is as original as possible. If that’s the case, I think it’s wonderful that writers are challenging themselves to be unique! However, while I see nothing wrong with taking inspiration from books or not, there is still a lot to learn from reading. So even if books aren’t your number one source of inspiration, I still recommend reading as much as you can.
I also appreciated how many people voted for Real Life Experiences. Taking inspiration from real life is a great way to make sure your work is authentic and realistic. There is also just so much material you can garner from life; you could write a whole novel barely scratching the surface of your own experience. As Flannery O’Conner once said, “Anybody who has survived childhood has enough information to last him the rest of his days.”
To be perfectly honest, I mostly put Movies/TV Shows as an option to see what would happen. I grew up with a dislike for reading, so I have the sneaking suspicion that most of my storytelling knowledge came from family movie nights. I’ve also recently discovered how interesting it is to analyze movies and their storytelling techniques. Especially as we re-watch movies I first saw as a child, I’m able to appreciate the plot line better and recognize the story elements used.
Last but not least, a lot of people chose Other. Mostly because they gathered inspiration equally from all areas, but some people gave me some really cool explanations for other sources of inspiration they use. Some people brought up dreams, Pinterest, and writing prompts. Seeing all the different answers reminds me of how beautiful and prolific inspiration is. I think a well of inspiration is a great analogy, except that it gives the impression you have to go somewhere specific for the inspiration. In reality, the inspiration is the water in the well. It flows everywhere and can often be found in unsuspecting places.
Now that you’ve heard my thoughts on this little survey, I’d love to hear yours! Let me know in the comments what you think of these results and where you get your own inspiration.
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