If you plan to earn a living as an author, then boosting creativity will no doubt be a top priority in your life. Writing is a creative process. We’ve all read horror stories about writer’s block, something every author hopes to avoid. Developing hobbies (outside of writing) is a great way to engage your mind and spark creativity, which, in turn, can help you become a better writer.
Writers are typically people who like to use their brains. Fiction authors have fruitful imaginations. Authors can fall into ruts, however, if they never engage in hobbies outside of writing. This is where burnout can occur. Instead, it’s helpful to spend your free time engaging in activities (with passion) that allow you to use your brain in different ways.
Try these hobbies to boost creative thinking
If you’re looking for hobbies that take you away from writing while still letting you use your mind, give some of these ideas a try:
- Gardening: Writers cultivate words while gardeners cultivate living things. Putting your hands in soil and nurturing plants like flowers or vegetable crops is a way to be creative while temporarily disengaging from the written word.
- Language study: Learning a new language is challenging and may come in handy if you decide to incorporate a mysterious foreigner into your next novel.
- Random research: All you need to do for this hobby is choose a random topic of interest, then spend time researching it. Who knows what types of interesting things will work their way into one of your stories?
- Doing jigsaw puzzles: This is a way to use thinking and organizational skills while creating something beautiful at the same time.
- Read or write poetry: Poetry is a form of art that can lead you outside your comfort zone, challenge your abilities, and stretch your imagination.
- Write reviews: Yes, it’s a form of writing but quite different from writing fiction.
- Start a journal: Journaling is also a type of writing; you can add sketches or try different kinds of journaling, from daily re-cap/diary style to putting your private thoughts on paper.
- Study history: If you write historical fiction, this is one of the best hobbies you can have. Each week (or month) you can choose a different era and learn as much as you can about the cultures, political figures, economy, events and customs of the time.
Writers who have hobbies are less likely to “run out of steam” when it comes to thinking of new ideas for their stories. Which hobbies fuel your passion and boost your creativity the most?
