How Water Affects Your Creativity and Your Writing
Posted on 16. Jun, 2008 by Joanna in Creativity
Have you ever thought about the effect that water might have on your creativity? Or noticed the way that your writing flows better when you’re near water, watching as your words tumble and flow onto the page?
If you’re anything like me you might have noticed it subconsciously or intuitively. I tend to feel more creative when I’m walking near water, even if it’s the quiet urban canal near where I live in Edinburgh.
But it’s definitely more inspiring when I’m out and about near moving water: watching a waterfall, walking along the shore watching the waves roll in or sitting by a harbour and watching the movement of people, water and boats.
Henriette Anne Klauser in “Write It Down, Make It Happen” suggests changing your environment and getting near water to write.
Being near water, especially moving water, gets ideas to flow… Streams, showers and waterfalls stimulate creativity. To create aha! moments in your life, to capture and expand your insights, for inspiration about the shape of your dreams, get near water, especially moving water.
Going across water, especially by ferry, has a similar effect for me: waking me up and signalling that I’ve moved to a ‘different’ place, not just geographically but the way things feel and the way my creativity starts to flow.
This is just one of the many reasons why Sardinia is the perfect venue for our writing workshops. It’s the journey to the island. The sense of movement and transition. Oh, and of course, the sea.
I’m hoping we can tempt Emma into writing a bit more about beaches, rocky shorelines and the Sardinian seaside in a post coming soon…
What impact does the environment have on your creativity? What kind of environment would you choose to help get the words to flow?
Joanna in Edinburgh
Photo Credit: Colori della mia Terra by goodintention on flickr
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I like the poetry of this idea and perhaps the question is rhetorical as most people associate beaches, lakes, waterfalls etc with ‘free time’ not ‘at the job’ time.
I think that the water inside you is more important to fostering your creativity than pretty scenery, as poor health can affect creativity more than environment, but yeah, there really is something inspirational about water!!!!
I used to listen to my ipod on my morning walk on the beach but i found that i had some of my most creative ideas on my walk just letting my mind wander as I walked and looked around!
Darren Daz Coxs last blog post..Sunset Animals – how many can you see?
I made the experience that it is not so much the water, it’s the walking, the movement, which gives me ideas. Just to walk has a bit of meditation for me, it’s the movement of my feet, the feeling of fresh air. And then sometimes it happens – ideas are coming!
Ullas last blog post..Bavaria # 4 Landscapes
Darren, I like the idea of the water flowing inside us. That’s a great prompt to think about creativity as ‘flow’ and looking inside to see how it’s flowing or what we could do to get the water moving again.
I know what you mean about free time vs work time. Emma might have some interesting perspectives on that as she’s changed what ‘work’ looks like so completely. Of course we’re also promoting the beneficial effects of taking some ‘time out’ to help get the creative juices going by coming to one of our workshops
Interesting point about the book – the author highlights many sources of running water including taking a shower and sitting in a cafe near a fountain feature. She thinks it might have something to do with negative / positive ions.
Joanna
Ulla, you sound like me. Getting and walking is an instant way to get the words to flow!
Though I have noticed there are different results depending on the environment I walk in. And that travelling by ferry makes a *big* difference to the way I feel, even if it’s just a wee boat to a small island. Something to do with transitions and borders I guess – external and internal.
Joanna
Ulla, I’ve read in a number of places that moving around is a powerful creativity enhancer, for the reasons you cite, and more. (For example, exercise, in and of itself, is good for your brain; see Brain Rules by John Medina — http://www.brainrules.net.)
Regarding water, Charles Schultz said that there are three things that people can watch for hours on end: moving water, fire (campfire or fireplace), and a zamboni. I think there’s something about water and fire at least that switches on the contemplative, meditative parts of our brains.
Roy Jacobsens last blog post..A random question about how expressions change
Roy, it’s good to see you here, and thanks for the extra info on ways we can get our brains working.
Interesting too to think about the different parts of our brains… or different brain states… and how those affect our creativity.
Thanks too for enlightening me about the zamboni!
Hi Joanna, Roy, Ulla and Darren
I love water, be that the sea, a lake, a river, a waterfall or even a bath. I’m lucky enough to live a two-minute walk from a beautiful beach in Sardinia which means I spend a lot of time there. But, as Joanna suggested, I’ve shifted seeing it as a place for ‘time-out’ and one where I can actually work. Some of my best brainstorming comes from a swim in the sea and I’m known to take clients there, too. Either for some business brainstorming or as a wind down after the consult that we do on my veranda overlooking the sea.
But, like you say Ulla, anything to do with movement gets my perspective shifting and unlocks my ability to write.
Water can make a big imapct in my own writing, as to me it conjures images of the vastness of space and the openness of infinity. When I look out over an endless horizon of water, there is a sense of mystery, forboding, and of infinite potential.
Hi Edinburgh Fan, and sorry for the delay in replying.
I like the sound of infinite potential.
I think that’s something writing can do for us too
Joanna