I know that at one point or another I’ve talked about how our creativity is fueled by the world around us. This is because a great deal of artwork focuses on human nature, meaning that part of any creator’s job is to frequently go out and observe that nature in action. But it is also necessary for creators to get out and fully experience it for ourselves. Which is why, as important as our art may be to us, it is helpful and even necessary to keep up with other hobbies.
Pretty much anything that shifts our focus, that gets us interacting with something other than our current work-in-progress, is opening us up to possibility. In the past, I’ve mentioned how school is always a good environment for stretching the creative muscles and bending our perspectives. But such things as getting out in nature, traveling, and even learning another art form can supply us with a new outlet for inspiration.
For instance, on occasion I enjoy painting. Playing with color is a fun enough experience on its own, but it is also a very relaxing, sometimes even meditative activity. That in itself can help settle my focus and relieve my mind of any stress I might be feeling. But when looking at it from the perspective of a writer, painting can frequently help me with description, too. There are moments when the right words just aren’t coming to me–especially when it comes to more fantastical settings, and even the physical descriptions of characters. And if you’ve ever painted anything before, you know that the details tend to form themselves a lot differently with a paintbrush on canvas than they do with a pencil in a notebook. If you are painting a tiger in the jungle, for example, you are not painting fur and stripes so much as you are creating the illusion of fur and stripes; it’s not about what that person’s nose looks like–it’s about how the shadows curve around their face in order to give the impression of a nose.
Granted this perspective may not always come into play with writing, but approaching physical descriptions from a painter’s point of view can add insight to how things are seen, and not so much what things look like. This could further be reflected through our characters’ points of view–not just an author’s point of view.
Of course, there is also the type of inspiration that comes to us in more direct ways. As a storyteller, I am fortunate in that it is easy to find ideas just about anywhere–and the more things I do, the more experiences I have, the more opportunities for inspiration arise. As another example: anyone who follows my Instagram account will probably note at one point or another that I enjoy dancing Argentine Tango. And anyone who has ever made a habit out of tango knows that it’s not just another hobby: it’s an entire way of life. From weekly practicas and monthly Milongas to taking an occasional trip out of town (or for many tango enthusiasts, even out of state–sometimes even out of the COUNTRY) for a tango festival, I’ve met a lot of people and made friends from various parts of the world, and been through a lot of different tango-related scenarios–some thought-provoking or even unexpectedly humorous to the point I started imagining my tango life as something akin to a sitcom. And at one point a year or so ago I thought to myself: I could make something out of this: this panoply of unique and, at times, awkward situations.
Am I going to write a whole sitcom about dancing tango? Maybe eventually, once Nocturnal Mind has branched out a bit more. But the point I’m trying to make is that the idea is there for me to grab onto, and all because one day I decided to take a chance and step out of my comfort zone and join my school’s Tango Club.
So, remember: you can make art your entire world. But that world can only be as big as you allow the real world beyond it to be. So, stick to your hobbies, my little Night Owls! Continue to learn and grow and try new things, whether you’re a fresh-faced college student, or a slightly irritated starving writer hunched over her laptop like an old, weather-beaten gargoyle. Life is for the living, so go enjoy!
Night Owls, what are some of your hobbies, outside of your art?