Photo credit: ja ma on Unsplash

Even the most mundane aspects of real life can be an inspiration.

Today was a busy day. I spent several hours working on an objection, followed by several hours of errands. The latter had been scrupulously planned, in part because I hadn’t gone food shopping for myself in weeks. Not so much as a wilted lettuce leaf graced the vegetable drawer, while the fruit drawer bore a couple of limes that were discoloring more by the day.

Sometimes, doing errands feels like a chore, but not this time. I moved breezily from store to store, returning this and choosing that, taking my time, luxuriating in the fact that the only sound coming from my phone was the podcast of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. No calls, no emails, no texts. Nobody wanting anything. It was delicious.

I had no idea what I was going to write about today. I was half-tempted to journal instead of adding to my novel manuscript, but then I began to think about the errands. Since my main character is considering moving to a remote place, it occurred to me that having her go out in her own hometown to do errands, enjoying the freedom to go where she liked when she chose, would be an interesting way to illustrate her ambiguity about moving. Half an hour later, I had 1,126 words about her experiences at the library, the coffee shop, and the farmers’ market—none of which would be available to her in her new home. Tomorrow, I plan to explore her feelings about leaving such simple pleasures behind.

Sometimes, I feel as though I can’t write because the creative well is dry. Turns out, it can be filled by the simplest things.