My best ideas and my primary inspirations come not when I’m at my computer typing, but rather when I’m out in the world, among the public.
Some of my most creatively productive moments come at random times.
Whether it’s driving to school in the morning, getting lunch in the afternoon or ringing up customers at work, my mind works best when I am out and about, observing the world. I would imagine this is true for all types of creative people whether your passion is music, painting, dance or cinema. We all need external stimuli to keep our ideas coming.
So what are we to do during quarantine when we cannot even leave our houses except for essential reasons?
As soon as Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the “Safe at Home” order, I decided that I would take as much creative advantage of this newfound time as I possibly could.
Given that I am not commuting to school or even leaving my house, I find myself with more time to focus solely on my creative efforts.
I began writing the first draft of a horror film screenplay that I had been planning for a while, and I am a little over 40 pages in.
I’ve had to get creative with ways to find inspiration by utilizing what I have at home including books, films and music.
My main method for writing is to listen to music that will put me in the headspace of the subject I’m writing about.
Since the genre of my screenplay is horror, I like to look up YouTube playlists of classic horror film scores. It works well because there are no lyrics, so it can work as a nice background noise without distracting me.
Music is a huge part of inspiring creativity because it has the power to change your entire mood and thought process with only a few notes.
Watching, reading or listening to works of art is a way of interacting with the artists themselves.
You are, in a way, inviting the artist into your home to spend time with you, which is a fair share of external stimuli.
Another huge aspect of my creative inspiration is to revisit the movies, books and comics that inspired me to write this screenplay in the first place.
These serve to remind me of the visuals, aesthetics and themes that I want to evoke in my screenplay.
Seeing the different ways that other creators have tackled the subject matter is a huge confidence booster and inspiration in how to proceed with the story I want to tell.
Finally, perhaps the most important aspect of my creative inspiration is input from my friends.
It’s very challenging for an artist of any kind to create in a bubble; we need positive and constructively critical reinforcement from those we trust.
Talking on the phone or through FaceTime to some of my friends who are interested in the same subjects has served as a huge inspiration because they provide unique outlooks on ideas that had never even occurred to me.
Being consistently creative is hard enough without adding a global pandemic on top of everything.
By surrounding yourself with inspiration and sharing your passion with like-minded friends, you can still find ways to be creative, despite the fact that we are all stuck at home.
