the craft. place as inspiration in writing.

Thirteen to fourteen years ago, I boarded a plane headed to Los Angeles, California. I’d been at my job for close to two years and they were sending a group of us to LA to do an onboarding. Yes, that much later than my start date, but nonetheless, it came with so much anxiety. I was in my early twenties, had never been on a plane, and certainly had never been that far from my family. Your girl stayed local for college. Either way, the moment I landed at LAX, I realized I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. 

It was a completely different place. I’d been to a bunch of cities along the east coast. IYKYK, I95 takes you to a lot of places along the coast, but I’d never ventured to the left side of the country. Palm trees, sunshine, and freeways with four lanes each way were a completely new experience. I stayed at the iconic Beverly Hilton hotel and had no idea that LA wasn’t really a walkable city. But I realized quickly at that moment, great inspiration for my writing would come from being in new places. 

I love traveling, and have since been on many more planes than that sheltered twenty-something all those years ago. Well, I should say, I love arriving, because actually getting to a destination is hell, but I digress. Nowadays, I make a point to bring my journal with me even if it means I have fifty-leven books in my carryon. I saw somewhere a writer who talked about tagging their journal entries in each city and I make sure to do that so that whatever figment of my imagination in the future finds my journals, they will know where I was. I love writing whatever comes to mind when I’m in a new space. Don’t let there be an outside area, I’m there with a cup of tea, my journal and a pen. 

The iPhone even has an app now that allows you to “journal.” I’m still trying to find my way around it. And though I have no interest in putting my deepest, darkest thoughts on my device, I have found it useful for aggregating photos, random thoughts and experiences in particular cities on the fly. 

As much as we can do within the confines of our own beautiful spaces, I find it helpful to write when I’m in the moment. I feel so rich when I collect all these things to bring back to my desk and find ways to integrate them into my work. Things people have said. The smells. The food. The clothing. I literally feel like a sociologist in these moments. What is the culture as it relates to everyday life in this new place? Even if I have no idea how it will come into play, I keep it tucked away to be able to mine at some later time. 

One of the greatest compliments I received in writing Good Morning, Love was that people thought I lived in New York at some point in my life. While New York has never been a place of residence for me, I traveled there a lot, being that it’s only two hours away from Philadelphia, especially early in my songwriting career. I was hustling up and down to go to music industry events, and hoped to get that big break. I was always observing. Collecting those robust moments I experienced while there. That and a little bit of research to fill in the gaps, created an in-depth sense of place when it came to telling Carli and Tau’s story. 

Setting is such an integral part of our storytelling. Using the right colloquialisms, getting the regional jargon right, ensuring that we find the nuance in the way we describe places. Our own journeys through new territories are a ripe field to harvest new themes to explore, characters to develop, and questions to answer in our work. 

It’s imperative to me to find the places that inspire me the most as a writer. I find that my brain is most open, most creative when I’m near bodies of water, at 30,000 cruising altitude on a plane, at a cutely decorated cafe or simply outside in the sun. I won’t always be able to physically occupy those spaces, but I take advantage of the moments when I’m there. The goal is to bottle it up in its purest form and then utilize it as best as you can when the time comes to make it happen on the page. 

We won’t always have the time, space, or money for lavish trips. But right in your own city, there may be opportunities for you to get out and observe, change up your scenery and find endless inspiration. 

In what moments are you most inspired in your work? How can you work on incorporating that more into your writing practice on a regular basis? 

The Black Genius Foundation continues its mission to celebrate and invest in the genius of the Black Creative Ecosystem through Strokes of Genius, an open application program that provides artists, curators, journalists and scholars with funding to develop new creative projects. Strokes of Genius fulfills our commitment to invest in the creativity and cultural production of Black artists and arts professionals in addition to the creative health of our communities.

Tin House is hiring a Communications Coordinator and a Workshop Programs Coordinator. Pay $30k for each. 

Google is accepting applications for their Creative Fellowship. Paid contractor position for 6-months. Pay disclosed during the interview process. 

processAshley M. Colemanwriting, travelComment