The best way to gain creative insights is by spending time in nature. Many writers find inspiration for their work while exploring the wilderness. But what should you do if you don’t live near a forest or any other natural setting? Fear not! There are plenty of ways to get inspired through exploration outside your own backyard. These include visiting museums, attending lectures, and reading books about nature. Talk with friends who enjoy art, music, or literature; they may have some great ideas for how to spend time outdoors while still gaining inspiration for your writing project!
Visit museums.
Many museums have exhibits that are directly related to nature. For instance, the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo has a wide variety of live animals on display. The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago contains an exhibit about natural disasters; it includes various models showing how tsunamis form and what happens when asteroids strike our planet (hint: not good things).
Visit lectures.
Nature doesn’t have to be directly involved in the topic of a lecture about another subject for it to inspire you! For example, attending an astronomy lecture could lead you to many ideas for new stories or novels with space themes, while learning about biology may spark your creativity when writing fiction set on alien worlds. Lectures are also a great place to meet other writers and talk about writing, which can be very helpful when trying to brainstorm ideas.
Read books.
Books are another excellent resource for finding creative insights while still exploring nature. You don’t even have to go outside if you’re afraid of the weather or it’s raining! Instead, curl up in your favorite chair with a good book that takes place in the wilderness. Reading about nature will help you to better picture whatever it is you’re trying to describe in your own writing.
Surf Online.
Finally, consider taking a nature walk online! There are many websites dedicated to sharing photos of natural wonders from all over the world. Just do an internet search for “nature photography” or “beautiful nature photos.” You can even get inspiration from looking at pictures of places you’ve already visited before.
For example, if you went hiking in the Rocky Mountains last summer and took lots of great photographs to remember it by, look back through your old posts about that trip for ideas on how to write a scene with mountains as a setting.
Irene is an aspiring author who is looking forward on publishing her first book. Aside from that, she writes as a freelance on various magazines and runs her own blog.