Where is Your Inspiration?

I woke up today to the first crisp fall morning of the year. Everything is covered in a thin fog, dew thick on color changing branches. The air is light, hinted with a coming chill yet still warmed from the fading summer. Hello Fall. I welcome you.

It got me thinking.
What inspires you?

Now, I have already made a post about Muses. Today I am not talking about what/who gives you those ideas, that send your mind into a frenzy. No, I am talking about what inspires you. What is it that, when you see it, makes you want to sit down and write. What sounds or music draw your fingers to keys?  What makes you go: "Ah yes, that's the stuff."

I have to be honest:
Where I am living right now far from inspires me. Though I did work hard on redecorating my dining room into a writing den, I still feel far from inspired most days. We live in a two bedroom apartment (four person family...) which has been under construction since February (so much for just a four week project!) The area we live in is just a normal sub-suburbia area, littered with fast food restaurants, freeways, and noise.

Now, where I grew up...
A small island in Puget Sound, off the coast of Washington State. Though over-priced and prone to rumor spreading, it is a gorgeous place. From the West side you can watch the lights of Victoria. You can escape to any of the many beaches for a day away, a romantic sunset, an impromptu picnic. The Island lives and breathes the arts. Oh, and no fast food restaurants. True story. None at all.

That is what inspires me. When I smell the rain, when I see the crashing waves. When the world is quiet and easy.  When I feel like the only way to fully appreciate the beauty around me is to create.

Maybe it is because that is what I grew up with.
Maybe it is because all the busy, crazy distractions of "real" life are inexistent.

Whatever it is, I love it. And it makes me want to write. It pulls the words out. And I long for it.

Sadly, most of us do not live in our dream place.  It can be hard to feel inspired.  To feel that overwelming urge to just write write write.
But we can make our own inspiration.

• Transform a writing den. Or nook.  Or couch cushion...
• Make those playlists.  Music, ambience, whatever the noise you need.
• Set aside time where you can escape into solitude.  If things like the internet, kids, television far from inspire you, hide from them, even for a short time.
• Or submerge yourself into people watching.  Whichever works best.
• Accept that where you are is where you are. If you pine for inspiration, it will probably hide. Just... allow it to happen.  It will.

My inspiration today: The fog and dew.  I think it is time to create.

What is yours?
Happy Writing