Today is Road Trip Wednesday 🙂 RTW is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.
This week’s topic: When you need creative inspiration, where do you go?
While thinking about this question, I realize I go to a lot of places to find creative inspiration. Sometimes it’s not a conscious choice. Other times I just need the extra push to my creativity buttons. Here is my list of places I find my muse hanging out.
1. In Jaime’s WiP and talking to Jaime: I´m amazed by how my creative buttons open easily while critiquing Jaime’s work. It forces my brain to look at the written words in different ways. I am amazed by the magic she created in places while I try to polish other places by making them tighter but overall I am just super duper (yes super duper) grateful to read her manuscript and to get the push I need for mine at the same time. Plus, talking about my WiP with her helps me to bring on many ideas and triggers my creative inspiration in many ways!
2. Pinterest: Yes, it’s full of shiny, possible distracting things but when I am in need of visual creativity to better describe something or an atmosphere, it is quite helpful. Sometimes it also comes while I’m not looking for it, just browsing randomly. The other day, I search for shirtless soccer players. Yes. It’s research.
                                                                Source: Uploaded by user via Elodie on Pinterest
3. Youtube or Itunes:Â Music helps me to get in the mood sometimes or to think about a certain scene or just inspires me at the most random times.
4. Jogging: With my running shoes on, I seem to encounter my muse more often than not. The plots of my book seem to come rushing back to me, new ideas shine through. Okay, I also complain a lot sometimes about how tired I am before I go running but it is worth it on many levels.
5. Reading books in my genre: I read a lot of YA contemporary romance these days, I see what works and what I love about them. It gives my creativity a bit of a hint of where I want it to go and where I’d like to take some risks…
6. Reading non YA books: Sometimes I also just need to let my mind venture to other pastures so it recharges on something completely different. This helps my creativity to recharge as well 😀
7. Reading blogs or tweeting or people watching: People are just a wonderful source of creative inspiration!
8. Taking pictures: I think it has to do  in using a different part of your creativity which triggers the one I need for my WiP. Can work magic.
9. Talking with my husband: I use him as a sound board sometimes. Yes, he does nod to everything I say writing-related (everything else not so much :D) but at least I said those ideas out loud and for some reason that helps to. It can also happen for the Chemical Engineer to reassure me that said-ideas are not totally crazy and do make sense. I need this sometimes to rock the creativity boat.
10. In the shower: Yes. I seem to work out plots and get random creative inspiration in the shower.
So tell me, which is the most random way for you to get your creative inspiration?
Elodie Nowodazkij 
A lot of these work for me as well, especially showers. Showers see to have some kind of magic.
Showers do seem to have some kind of magic 😀 We should create a special way to record those ideas when they come so randomly though…
Just yesterday I came across a cartoon on The New Yorker fb page that would have been perfect, but I don’t know how to post it here. Anyway, it’s a sketch of a basic shower with an “Ideas” box mounted on the tiled wall and a pencil on a string attached to the side of the box. It doesn’t sound very funny when I describe it, but I did chuckle because I know lots of people who get their ideas while taking showers. Anyway, my ideas usually come to me when I’m driving or when I’m just about to fall asleep. (:
That cartoon seems indeed like it would have fit perfectly here…ideas appear to sneak on us sometimes at the weirdest time 😀
I’m nodding to a number of the things you say, Elodie. If we keep our imaginations active, our brains shouldn’t need much stimulus to find inspiration in most places. And conversation about the WiP certainly helps–as you said, just the act of speaking aloud about it helps your mind to think ideas through. 🙂
😀 Talking do help. Sometimes reading the last scenes out loud also help me 😀
I wish I could brainstorm while on the gym, but I’m focused on everything that hurts while trying to lift weights LOL
Shower does seem to do some miracle discoveries, doesn’t it?
To me there’s no magical formula, unfortunately. Books and music are my “secret”.
Hahaha 😀 Well I do get inspiration while running but lifting weights may not work so well for me either…Showers do seem to trigger creativity in mysterious ways!
Pinterest! I tend to forget why I’m there though and end up bookmarking recipes instead 😛 Exercise certainly helps as well. Which reminds, I should do some…
Recipes from Pinterest. Yum! I found a lot browsing through too 😀
Showers do seem to have magical powers! I’ve puzzled out many plot problems and come up with new ideas in the shower. Also, strangely, washing dishes works really well for me. It keeps me being productive while allowing me to stare out the window and just let my mind wander.
I don´t know what´s up with showers and creativity but it seems to work magic for a lot of us 😀
For inspiration when working on my historical pieces, I go back & explore the historic sites that I write about. There’s nothing like breathing in the air from a century ago and inhaling the atmosphere of the Victorian era. 🙂
Ohhhhhhhh I love going to historical places and imagining what the life of people was back then. I am sure it is great to feel that way when you´re working on a historical piece!
Showers are magical idea places where awesomeness is born 😉
I love to get outside YA too and see what else is happening in the literary world – because some themes translate brilliantly!
😀 Very true, very true! 😛 And you´re right about themes translating brilliantly from one world to another and it really pushes me as well to think out of the box in a way 😀
Best place for me to find inspiration: Alone at the cinema, while I’m waiting for the movie to start. Aaaah… now I want to go there. 🙂
That´s interesting…I am going to have to try that at some point too 😀
I agree with pretty well everything you have here. There’s a whole lot of nodding going on on my side of the pond. 😀 And I had to laugh about the shower one because YES! It’s crazy, but it’s the best place (and most inconvenient) for coming up with ideas. 😀
I really wonder what´s up with writers and showers 😛 everybody seems to agree on this. I am going to have to ask hubby if he resolves his plant´s issues when showering 😀
A few of these inspire me too, like music and reading in my genre.
Inspiration waits for us in many many places 😀
I completely forgot about Pinterest! I love it. So many photos that inspire so many ideas and characters. Absolutely fantastic! 😀
Pinterest is a wonderful way to get the creativity moving 😀
Using Pintrest to do some character development is a great way to get inspired.
True! And it helps sometimes when I am stuck on something to get in a particular mood 😀
Reading books and blogs really help me too . . . and convo’s w/ my hubby!
Seeing what others are up sometimes give me a burst of creativity. With my hubby, it´s talking out loud about my WiP that helps 😀
I get a lot of inspiration while I’m cleaning the shower.
Music for me too, and pics, and googling shirtless soccer players…
While you´re cleaning the shower? Interesting…Maybe I should change my mindset when I am cleaning and use the time to brainstorm! Well googling shirtless soccer player is just one of those important thing all writers should do at least once 😛