By Janine Rosche, @janinerosche

Writer’s block. The empty page. Flat characters. Uninspired scenes. If you’ve been writing for any length of time, you’ve likely experienced one or all of these story-killers. And the reason is probably that your creativity has run dry. Creative professionals pour their imagination, their passion, and their soul into their projects, bleeding themselves until they have nothing left to give.

What’s the solution? I promise you it’s not scrolling social media. Which was exactly what I was doing when I stumbled upon the REAL solution to the problem. Author coach Ruth Buchanan shared the following nugget of wisdom: if you’re going to be expending creative energy, you also need to be fueling your creativity.

And that’s why people look to her for advice! It makes perfect sense. It’s far too easy to work and work and work, denying self-care, when deadlines are near. By doing so, though, we are not only hurting ourselves, but the quality of our work suffers as well. Even beyond self-care, viewing and experiencing artistic expression integrates the right and left hemispheres of the brain, making it easier for you to assign emotions to the hypothetical situations we create in novels.  

So without further ado, here are twenty-five things to see or do to refuel your creativity:

1. Visit an art gallery or art festival. Author Janyre Tromp (Shadows in the Mind’s Eye, O Little Town) found inspiration through ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
2. Learn about the painstaking restorations at a local car show.
3. Get mesmerized by the creation of nature at an aquarium, observatory, or zoo.
4. Experience something new at a cultural center or festival celebrating the lives of others who are different than you.
5. Tour a historic building, church, or cemetery. 
6. Get tickets to a symphony or concert. Or simply enclose yourself in a dark room and listen to your favorite music. I like to create a new playlist to match the theme of the manuscript I’m writing. Author Rachel Scott McDaniel (Above the Fold, In Spotlight and Shadow) will sing and make music with her husband.

7. Catch a musical, movie, or play at your local theater.
8. Open a poetry book or better yet, attend a poetry reading or slam.
9. Walk through a botanical garden, nursery, florist shop, or neighborhood with well-landscaped yards.
10. Frequent a well-curated museum of some kind.
11. Be moved by a ballet or dance performance.
12. Embrace your wanderlust and travel to beautiful sights near or far.
13. Try a signature dish at a restaurant or try a new cuisine entirely.
14. Go dancing. (Sidenote: there aren’t enough places to go dancing these days. We’ve got country western bars and weddings. The world would be a happier place if dancing was more commonplace!)
15. Attend a wine or chocolate tasting.
16. Bake a cake and get creative with the decoration.
17. Knit, crochet, embroider, macrame, or cross stitch.
18. Tour an old theater preserved from the 1920s or 1930s.
19. Peruse the local artisan’s handiwork at a craft show.
20. Take a hike. If you have a national park within a day’s drive, I recommend that. If not, check out a walking path somewhere local. The important thing is feeling the breeze on your face, hearing the leaves flutter or crunch underfoot, and gazing up at the wide sky.
21. Check out a Paint Your Own Pottery place.
22. Sketch, paint, or pick up a coloring book for adults.
23. Watch a classic movie like Casablanca, Roman Holiday, or The Princess Bride.
24. Download a soundtrack with an inspiring score. I recommend The Last of the Mohicans, A River Runs Through It, or Braveheart.
25. Teach yourself calligraphy or hand lettering.

There you have it. Twenty-five ways to refill your creativity bucket! Do you have a special way you soak in creativity? Tell us in the comments.

 

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Aspen Crossroads

To protect those most vulnerable, Haven Haviland must trust her heart–and her regrets–to a mysterious newcomer in this moving contemporary romance.

Few in the community of Whisper Canyon have actually met Jace Daring, a handsome recluse who lives at Aspen Crossroads, the farm at the edge of town. But that doesn’t stop the rumors about the multiple women who live with him. He must protect the truth–that his farm-to-table restaurant will provide new livelihoods for women rescued from human trafficking–or he risks the safety and futures of those relying on him. But he can’t do it alone.

Haven Haviland has always been everyone’s safe place to fall until one mistake closes her counseling practice and leaves her open to the town’s gossip. Trusting men has gotten her in trouble before. However, accepting Jace’s job offer to mentor the rescued women seems like the perfect way to right her wrongs.

When the mayor’s campaign to clean up Whisper Canyon targets Aspen Crossroads, the restaurant comes under fire, dangers from the women’s pasts are awakened, and Haven’s sins are exposed for all to see. Jace would sacrifice himself to save Haven and the women under his care, but his efforts might not be enough. And in the end, it might not be the women most in need of saving after all.

Prone to wander, Janine Rosche finds as much comfort on the open road as she does at home. This longing to chase adventure, behold splendor, and experience redemption is woven into her Madison River Romance series and her upcoming release ASPEN CROSSROADS. When she isn’t writing or traveling, she teaches family life education courses to college students, takes too many pictures of her sleeping dogs, and embarrasses her four children and husband with boy band serenades. Chat with her on Facebook and Instagram or visit www.JanineRosche.com for a free Whisper Canyon Romance prequel novella.