Feb 7, 2012 / General Advice & Pro Tips

Inspiration that Clicks

One of the best tips a friend ever gave me for staying inspired was to sign up for the daily newsletter from the American Academy of Poets. Every single day, they send out a poem to their subscribers. The subjects of the poems vary, as well as the styles. I’ve had Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson appear in my inbox right next to contemporary writers.

Since most of my email comes from listservs and various websites I’ve signed up to follow over the years, I delete the vast majority of it. But every day, I make a point to read the Poem-A-Day from Poets.org. It’s a nice way to spend at least five minutes a day stirring up my creative juices.

There are only a handful of blogs and websites that I check each day to get my creative fix. Here are a few of them. (They don’t all have the option to sign up for email updates, but you can always add them to your WordPress.com Reader here):

  • Brain Traffic – Good advice from an excellent team on content strategy and writing.
  • Brain Pickings – I love Brain Pickings. The easiest way to describe it is as a collection of interesting tidbits on artists, writers, and the way things work.
  • Contents – Tips from the pros on content strategy and the future of online publishing.
  • Open Culture – Free educational resources on culture and history.
  • Longreads – Designed to be read online and at your computer, Longreads curates interesting, quick reads every day.

Taking the time to read either tips or creative pieces by other artists each morning is a great way to build your inspiration up throughout the day. Aside from the Daily Post, where do you go to find tips and fodder?

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  1. Now, THIS was inspiring! Thank you for curating this list of links. I find that I am less inspired by structured prompts, and much more apt to write after I have reflected on something really meaty. Your post is just what I needed today — thank you.

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  2. I find my inspiration in long walks and looking at the world around me, which is why haven’t blogged recently, I haven’t done either for a while. Thank you for the links also.

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  8. THANK YOU so much for this post!!! It’s exactly what I needed. I minored in Creative Writing .. took a little break after I graduated from college in 2008 .. but these resources you have provided will definitely be helpful to me.

    Thanks Again,
    Heather

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  10. Thanks for the great post, love the list! I find tidbits from people around me every day. Listening carefully to side comments, quick responses and even longer rants gives me many ideas for subjects. Really listening to what’s happening around me is great inspiration.

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  15. I may not get all of my photo’s up as I accepted an award…so I just wanted to see what you all are posting for photo’s… Thanks for that.

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  18. My inspiration comes from what I have seen or heard happen around me over the years. Just walk around with you eyes open and you would see thousands of small stories and poems lying around. Challenge your imagination to shape the ordinary into the extraordinary. It could be something as ordinary as a butterfly fluttering over a flower or a rainbow shaping up in the sky, ordinary every day events for most of us but for a true artist, poet or blogger that is inspiration enough to craft a masterpiece.

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  21. THANK YOU!!! so much for this post!!! It’s exactly what I needed. I want to improve My Creative Writing .. took a long break after I graduated from college in 1981. Now I am a candidate for Master Information Systems .. but these resources you have provided will definitely be helpful to me.

    Thanks Again,
    Sophorn Nuon

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