SENSORY inspiration
Stimulate your senses and refresh your creative muscles with inspiring ideas from Kerrie Flanagan
Kerrie Flanagan
Creativity is at the core of everything we do as writers. Without it, our protagonists would lead mundane lives, articles would be boring lists of facts and poetry wouldn’t exist. Creativity is the fuel that breathes life into our writing and adds colour to the worlds and characters we create.
If creativity is a key to writing success, are there ways to enhance and cultivate this part of us? Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, psychology professor, leading expert in this field and author of Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, believes there are. After years of studying creative individuals in different fields from science to the arts, he found ways we can develop our creativity and as a result, become stronger writers. It is much easier to be personally creative when you maximise optimal experiences in everyday life, he wrote.
One of his suggestions is to embrace your inner child, because children view the world with a natural wonder and curiosity. By developing this approach, you will find yourself noticing and appreciating things you may have missed otherwise. Another idea is to make time for rest and relaxation. It is important to have downtime to recharge, as well as letting new ideas or scenes from current projects incubate and roll around in our minds. Finally, Mihaly says our brains like to be challenged and engaged. Do something surprising every day; maybe change your routine, try a new food or strike up a conversation with someone you hardly know.
By using your five senses you utilize Mihaly’s advice and awaken your creative side. When it is time to sit down and write, your invigorated senses will help fuel your imagination. The activities shared in this article will help you find that hidden child, open your mind to original ideas and provide you with new experiences to surprise yourself.