–Abraham Lincoln

So said the man who got rid of slavery in the United States. It is an inspirational quote.

How do we as writers stay inspired? Writers have difficulty carving out time and summoning inspiration. 

One way that keeps me going is the occasional writing workshop. There are so many opportunities online and in your writing community. I don’t take multi-week workshops unless I’m really trying to focus on something new and learn about it. I just take the occasional one-shot workshop to get some fresh ideas about my writing. Just google under a topic you might find interesting and see what’s available. Sometimes they are free, or very low cost.

Another way of finding inspiration is in a writing group. Listen to what others are reading and hear what they have to say about what you’re working on. Most communities have pockets of writers who meet up. Join a community group and see if you can get invited into a small group of your own. My writing groups have sustained me through the years.

Collaboration is another way I find inspiration. I particularly like collaborating with artists. I like reading a artist’s exhibits. This gives you inspiration and brings people in to see the art or art lovers in to hear some of your writing. It’s a win/win situation. You can also write ekphrastic poetry, or responses to art pieces. I recently did this with the Norwegian artist, Irene Christensen. She did a series of full-color paintings on women at the heart of the environmental movement. I found the paintings so inspiring, I wrote a whole series of ekphrastic poems in response and we wound up developing a 60-page manuscript called, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth.

Follow me here on Thursdays. I’ll be blogging about writing, the writing process, steps to publishing, and the progress of our manuscript, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth.