Hot Inspiration

Outdoor activities sizzle and spark creative juices. Pictures in the mind or from the camera inspire hot colors and sweaty ideas, which fuel hot inspiration. Sunsets full of wonderful colors, hot pinks, vivid blues, brilliant yellows and luscious lavenders merge together to create new colors. Flowers of every shade contrast against the blanket of green grass.

Visit a poem from childhood. Every Time I Climb a Tree by David McCord is a good one. If this isn't a favorite, share one that is.






Every area of the world has some favorite summer sayings: "Knee high by the Fourth of July", "Don't swim for an hour after you eat", and "Dog days of summer".  What are some others? What does the first one mean? What happens during the "Dog days of summer"?

Think summer and the five senses:

• The smells of summer
• The sights of summer
• The sounds of summer
• The touch of summer
• The tastes of summer

Write summer related words. Here's a few to start with; Fourth of July, picnics, outdoors, sunshine, hot, sticky, sweltering, insects, bugs and camping. How about some cooling words: Swimming, ice cream, ice cold tea, or ice cold watermelon.

Summer is also a time of favorites. Favorite places to walk, favorite summer sports to play, favorite clothes to wear and favorite books to read. Summer reads are normally lighter and shorter. Nice dark print is a plus when the beach is the preferred reading spot. 

Take a lot of photographs and keep notes on each one. When that scene comes up that needs a willow tree softly blowing in the summer breeze pull from memory and add detail from the photo album. Look at the picture. Is the tree young or old? What color is the grass, the sky or the lake? How did it inspire the photograph?

Could a family of fairies or a tiny village live under this toadstool? Is there a summer love kindling that only happens under a toadstool?

Long days and hot nights beg for hot inspiration. On those lazy, hazy days of summer—write hot.


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Photography by Cher'ley Grogg