Inspiration is all around us. However, it only becomes available for those who know where to look for it. As an experienced inspiration-finder myself, let me offer some tips that I’ve found useful when searching for long lost inspiration.
 
#1. Change Your Surroundings
If you’re used to writing in your room, try going to a public place. Perhaps you can go to a coffee shop or a local park. Being surrounded by people is actually quite useful when searching for inspiration. It’s possible that their actions might lead you to inspiration, or that the change in scenery might provide rejuvenation to the creative energy in your mind. Either way, changing the environment in which you write might serve useful for your creativity!
 
#2. Make Writing Seem Special
Since this sounds confusing, I’ll be sure to elaborate. Instead of treating writing like a typical occurrence, try planning it out like an event. Set the mood by playing music that relates to your story, preparing snacks, and elevating your writing space. If you have any writing or notebooks related to your work-in-progress, try laying it out on your writing workspace and reviewing it. By making writing seem special, inspiration may come flowing in along with some excitement!
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#3. Read
I’ve heard this a countless number of times, and I never fully understood this concept until I tried it. Pick up a good book and immerse yourself in the story. When you’ve finished reading, try thinking about the components of the story. Now, draw inspiration from it. Think about character relations, plot lines, and even story settings. If you feel something in your story isn’t adding up, think about what makes this element work in the story you’ve read. Now, make sure you aren’t copying this story’s ideas, but instead find your own personalized inspiration from their ideas. Reading can often trigger some inspiration of your own. Don’t hesitate to pick up a book and dive right into it!
 
These ideas may not work for everyone, but they’ve certainly worked for me! Writing is often subjective. Don’t let this stop you! Inspiration really is easy to find. Try looking out the window, going out, spending time with friends and/or family, and you may find that inspiration was never that far away to begin with. Good luck writers, and I hope that after this blog post, you can find your inspiration! 

This blog post was written by Ralia Farah.

Avid readers are often angered when their favorite book is adapted into a show or a movie. Why is this? Shouldn’t they feel a great sense of joy seeing what they had to imagine come to life? In many cases, book adaptations are cut short, and the essence of the book is lost. This is one of the primary reasons why book fans are disappointed. Additionally, books allow for a great deal of creativity, as each reader can personally envision each moment in a unique way with different symbols than others might. A movie depiction limits this creativity and imagination, disengaging the audience from the storyline.

Readers often feel a certain connection to a character in a book because of possible similarities they find between the character and themselves. As they delve deeper into the novel, they might even feel a strong attachment to a character. This attachment leads them to alter the character in their minds to fit their own needs, sometimes feeling as if the character is a close friend. Movies often remove this ability from the audience, and individuals who have formed an attachment to a particular character are likely to feel disappointed, if not angered.
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While this frustration is valid to a certain degree, as book lovers are the only ones who truly understand the relationship between a reader and the story, it is important not to ruin the movie experience for others because of personal dislike. Respect and empathy are crucial values needed between book lovers and movie lovers alike. Each individual finds solace in a different version of the story, with neither being right nor wrong. This is why understanding the differences between the two parties is of utmost importance. Both movies and books foster creativity and imagination in separate but equally valuable ways.

This blog was written by Isha Popat.

1. Go outside
When was the last time you dug your bare hands through a patch of soil? Can’t
remember? Before you wonder what in the world I am getting at let me inform you that
writing is about communicating newness. I could write about a sorrow which you and I
have both experienced but my writing would be new. No one had ever thought to string
together the alphabet in that exact way to communicate that feeling. Your writing is new.
So have you ever stopped to ask yourself ‘how many new things have I done?’. How
many unique sensations have I experienced in the past month? If you think I’m here to
tell you to shove your hand into a tub of expired mayo at your friend's house- then you
are correct. Do that. Please. Experience something you have never experienced before or
something you have forgotten what the experience was like. New likes new. And your
writing will flourish after you have tended to the monotony your mind has become so
accustomed to.

2. Talk to people
At an airport I struck up a conversation with the pilot who was standing behind me in a
Chick-fil-A line. He spoke of his family, his go to fast food order, and of course flight.
Waiting to place my order I second handedly experienced the worst major turbulence he
had ever flew through and the first time he flew solo. This inspired me to spend the next
few hours hacking away at a poem about flight. If I hadn’t spoken to that man what
would be next for me? Another hour spent staring at the ceiling or doom scrolling on
Instagram? Probably and we both know that no writing would take place then. The
person next to you has more of a story to tell than you think and a curious mind will
nurture your writing by providing a plethora of vicarious experiences to help it grow.

3. Read other peoples work
If you go to your local library or bookstore and pick up a book you will find
immortalized proof of someone overcoming their writer's block. How did they do it?
We’ll never know BUT we can know what story or idea or thought was so compelling
enough that they just had to pick up the pen and write it down. This could lead you to
finding your very own compelling thought that you just have to write about. So
sometimes you can’t write- read and be surprised at your urge to run to your notebook
and jot something down.

4. Put down your phone
That rectangular piece of technology has entrapped your mind, your heart, and perhaps
even your soul. Well, what I mean is that you use it. A lot. Probably a bit more than you
should. I get it. It has your friends, your family and you’ve laughed while holding it,
maybe you’ve even cried. But the not so great side effect of that is that it mentally boxes
you. That entrapment of your mind I was talking about earlier? Yeah, it manifests like
this: whether consciously or unconsciously your mind learns to live and grow in relation
to your relationship with your phone. Suddenly, and this is usually subconsciously, it’s
hard to think without it. It’s hard to breath without wondering where it is and I don’t have
to tell you that this constant attachment is hurting your writing. Clear out some space
mentally and please please put that phone down so you can write.

5. Write
I know the only reason you’ve made it this far is because you are still on the seemingly
never ending quest to cure your writer's block. So, why in the world would my final piece
of advice be to write? The one thing you can’t seem to do. Well, us writers are often
plagued with it-has-to-be-great-itis. Spare your trip to the doctors because I can explain.
As writers we feel the need to mind edit. Before we even jot something down we
subconsciously try to tailor it to be good. We leave no room for errors or blunders and
that’s why we feel crippled with an inability to write. A more fitting title would be ‘write
with no inhibitions’. This means no mind editing, no tailoring, no adjustments- just
whatever pops into your head will go on the page as is. If you asked me to do that this
minute it would probably go like ‘Hunger gnaws at my stomach. I want a pizza and a
warm doughnut.’. Was that a mind blowing piece of poetry? No. But it was something
and something often gets you somewhere especially the more you do it.

This blog post was written by Adefisayo Aromolaran.