As a child, I enjoyed daydreaming and I loved climbing as high as I could in a tree so I could enjoy the total solitude. Sharing my thoughts and feelings with nature, there's a poem by David McCord called "Every Time I Climb a Tree" and when I read it, I'm instantly transported back to 1962. In many ways, mood effects writing. Mood directly relates to what a person writes, where they write and how they write. Sometimes creativity needs a boost.
Autumn puts me in a day-dreamy mood. I love to sit outside or walk through the woods and …think. Just think. Let my mind go where it will. Listen to the birds, smell the Fall air, crunch the leaves under my feet and dream. Karle Wilson Baker's poem Days goes like this:
Some days my thoughts are just cocoons-all cold, and dull and blind,
They hang from dripping branches in the grey woods of my mind;
And other days they drift and shine-such free and flying things!
I find the gold-dust in my hair, left by their brushing wings.
Writers are moody creatures. We get in the mood to write and our minds concentrate on the heroine in our next story or we're trying to figure out the best way to kill a really good person. First, we have to create the person whom everyone loves and deeply cares for, before we knock them off. In the meantime, life goes on, the phone rings, the baby cries, our husbands demand our attention and we find ourselves getting in a discouraging mood. Finally, we get everything settled down and return to our writing, but now we are not in the mood.
To get back in the mood, I read poetry, take a walk, listen to music or get a hot cup of coffee, open my blinds and stare out the window—daydreaming. Is there a poem or song that takes you back in time? What do you do to get in the mood?
Share your thoughts, your memories and your mood in the comments. (Bad moods welcome—good moods appreciated).
Resources:
Every Time I Climb a tree http://www.strangelove.net/~kieser/Poetry/tree.html
Photos:
Rachel by Cher'ley Grogg
Autumn by Mexicanwave http://www.freepicturesfreepictures.com/
Once again, I just have to say, you hit it spot on.. Mood determines everything for me.. This is my favorite time of the year so I feel the most productive!! The summer's in Alabama are brutal and I love my AC!! Fall allows me to open the windows and just take in everything.. I think even the birds are happier because it has cooled down!! So, today my mood is great and I hope the ideas just flow right out!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks!!
Going for a walk, taking in the natural surroundings of each season and/or listening to music--these are ways for me to tune into a creative moment!
ReplyDeleteSo great that you wrote about these inspirations and daydreams!
Amazing photo red!
Patricia
http://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/
Hi Tara and Patricia. I'm glad I was able to share my experiences on this blog. Memories just rushed as I was writing it.
ReplyDeleteI went to the river today and sat on the bench watching the water drift by and then I went fishing. Since I drive a truck cross country, I don't get to enjoy my own front yard as often as I like.
Those two poems are so great for me. Music feeds my soul too. I hope we can all be inspired by this beautiful weather we're having.
Darling,
ReplyDeleteHow true this is.I'm glad we can enjoy these things together after these many years.
When I'm not in the mood I find it really difficult to motivate myself but I usually find free-writing works most times as it lets me unleash and gets my mind itching to write more.
ReplyDeleteBethany, I need to do that more often. I find that if I will just sit down and start working on my WIP, I'll get into it and start enjoying it, but sometimes it's hard to get the motivation to do it. Thanks for mentioning that.
ReplyDeleteDel, thanks. I appreciate your support.