What’s your writing inspiration this summer?

2014_August_summerinspirationSummer days are great for lots of things – getting out and enjoying your city or town, meeting up with friends, spending more time with family, taking holidays and slipping out of the rhythms of the daily grind.

For writers, it can also be a time for inspiration.

That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a period with more time for writing, but that ideas begin to take shape in the mind of a writer. Those kernels of an idea may begging to sprout months later, when it’s colder and an evening cozy at home before a laptop seems a better option than al fresco drinks with friends.

I’ve started working on a lot of new projects during the summer. Last summer on holiday with my two boys in Bali, I’d sneak out to the terrace in the evenings when they fell asleep, and type out the first few chapters of my current WIP, the story of three American ex-pats living in Rome, and discovering that life isn’t turning out at all like they expected.

I haven’t had as much time to work on it this year as I’d like, but most of the plotting and brainstorming took place then – in relaxed summer mode.

And you writers? Are you more productive during the longer, lazier summer days? Do you write more? Or do you store away inspiration for the winter months… like the squirrels piling up their acorns? : )

Happy summer writing, and daydreaming!

8 Comments

  1. evelyneholingue on August 29, 2014 at 5:11 pm

    Actually until I read one of your last comments about letting summer ideas simmer until fall or winter, I used to take full advantage of the summer to write as much as possible. This year, however, I have read more than I ever have. I found in many books a source of inspiration. Not for a topic but for a way to tell a story. So, yes, summer can be a good time to fill our creativity with scenery, people, and books until cooler weather bring us inside to write. So now with this latest post of yours, I am almost convinced that it is indeed a good thing to relax during the long summer days and let our imagination run the show. See you, Kimberly.

    • kimberlysullivan on September 3, 2014 at 10:51 pm

      Glad to hear you’ve had a productive reading summer, Evelyne! Let’s compare notes in the autum/fall and see if our backwards hibernation has fueled our writing during the colder months. : )

  2. wordfoolery on August 30, 2014 at 4:00 pm

    I have less writing time in the summer than during school-term with academic DH and two children underfoot. Having tried various coping methods this year I decided to only blog, crit, and research. The research part meant some trips and lots of reading non-fiction and note-taking. It worked out brilliantly and I intend to do it again next summer. Then I can spend Sept-June actually writing, based on the research.

    • kimberlysullivan on September 3, 2014 at 10:54 pm

      Thanks, Grace! Great strategy. Look forward to seeing how you put all that important research to good use come autumn (and the return of school schedules). : )

  3. Catherine on August 31, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    This summer has been very productive for me. I think it’s because most of my jaunts have been to writers’ conferences or workshops and I’ve been inspired to get to work in between flitting about Europe!

    • kimberlysullivan on September 3, 2014 at 10:56 pm

      Good for you, Catherine. Surely the best of both worlds – European travel and a productive writing schedule. Share your secrets… please! : )

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