11 million pieces of inspiration

What inspires you when you are writing?

A lot of people have playlists, but I don't listen to music when I write (I can't write with someone else's words in my head). I'm a visual person. Images evoke emotion for me.

Just this past week, a new short story idea caught me. Little pieces started to come together...herbal lore, rural Vermont, a clapboard farmhouse turned restuarant, romance. And kissing. The images were twirling in my head, that ethereal dance before words hit the page.

I posted recently about how turned to different creative pursuits to get past writer's block and opened my own Etsy shop Faerie Lights Studio to get past it. I've been enjoying myself, spending a lot of time looking at the beautiful items people are offering.

Etsy has a lovely feature called a Treasury. You can create a collection of items that you love, things that you want, things that inspire you. It's a visual favorites list. It can be public or just for you. And you can include anything. There are over eleven million items on Etsy. That's a lot of inspiration.

To help those ethereal thoughts find a earthbound home, I created a treasury called Idlewyld Inspirations, full of items that inspire me as I write my new story. I love the photography, the beautiful aura that these artists imbue in their products. I almost feel I'm there...

I wrote over 1000 words last night (very rare for me to write when my family is home), with a pen (unheard of), and then got up in the night to write 500 more (used to be common, but hasn't happened in a while). My block seems to be broken and I have Etsy to partially thank for it, in more ways than one.

So if you are seeking inspiration or an image to represent something in your head, Etsy's a great place to go.

And if you do, pop by Faerie Lights Studio, where I'm selling a new range of Christmas lights and pendants. I'm offering a special discount to anyone visiting from the blog. Just enter coupon code INSPIRE15 to save 15% on any purchase! Feel free to pass this coupon code on to an friends or family.

Have an inspired day!