As authors, we often find ourselves buried in the world of our books – plotting, writing, revising, and editing for hours on end. But have you ever stopped to consider how the rest of your life, outside of writing, can influence your work?
Hobbies and outside interests can make you a better writer, enrich your creativity, and even help you avoid burnout. After all, writing doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it’s shaped by everything you experience and enjoy outside of the written word.
If you focus exclusively on your writing, you might limit your creativity. Hobbies and outside interests give you the chance to recharge, explore new perspectives, and expand your imagination. Here’s how:
New Experiences Fuel Creativity
The world is full of ideas, waiting to inspire your next plot twist or character development. Whether it’s trying a new sport, learning to cook, traveling to a new place, or getting involved in a community project, these new experiences offer a treasure trove of sensory information, emotions, and stories that can enrich your writing.
Example: You might gain a deeper understanding of human emotions from volunteering at a local shelter, or new sensory details from hiking in the mountains. These are the kinds of experiences that make your writing more authentic and vivid.
Breaking the Routine Sparks Fresh Ideas
Staying in the same environment day after day can cause your writing to feel repetitive or stagnant. Stepping outside of your normal routine can help your brain break free from creative blocks. Hobbies like painting, photography, gardening, or even knitting give you a chance to work with your hands and engage in something that doesn’t require constant thinking.
Pro Tip: Taking a walk, playing a musical instrument, or getting involved in a hands-on activity can help your brain reset and approach your writing with fresh eyes. Sometimes, a solution to a plot problem might come to you while you’re focused on something else entirely.
Hobbies Help You Recharge and Avoid Burnout
This is HUGE. Writing for long periods (or doing any activity, really) without taking breaks can quickly lead to burnout, especially when you're juggling deadlines or struggling with self-doubt. Hobbies provide you with a healthy escape that allows you to disconnect from your writing and focus on something fun or relaxing.
Example: If you love to read but feel “burned out” by the pressure of your own writing, take a break and immerse yourself in someone else’s world for a while. Alternatively, diving into a hobby like painting or hiking can help clear your mind and rejuvenate your creativity.
Developing New Skills Improves Your Writing Craft
When you develop new skills or explore different interests, you also enhance your problem-solving abilities, focus, and discipline – traits that are directly transferable to writing. For example, learning a new language can improve your understanding of structure and syntax, while mastering a musical instrument can sharpen your sense of rhythm and pacing in your writing.
Tip: Even something seemingly unrelated, like learning to juggle, can help with focus and mental agility—skills that can come in handy when writing complex scenes or managing multiple plot threads!
Hobbies Bring You into Contact with Different People and Perspectives
Many hobbies lead to connections with people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and viewpoints. Whether it’s joining a cooking class, participating in a book club, or playing a team sport, engaging with people who have different experiences and worldviews can help you craft more well-rounded characters and authentic dialogue.
Example: Let’s say you join a community theater group – your interactions with actors, directors, and playwrights can introduce you to new ways of thinking about performance, character arcs, and emotional depth.
Use Your Hobbies To Can Enhance Your Writing
Here are a few specific hobbies and activities that can inspire your writing in surprising ways:
Traveling
Experiencing different cultures, languages, foods, and landscapes can offer an incredible wellspring of inspiration for setting descriptions, character development, and story ideas.
Tip: Even local travel—exploring new neighborhoods or hiking a trail in your hometown—can help you see the world in a new light.
Cooking or Baking
The sensory experience of cooking and tasting food can enhance your ability to describe sights, smells, textures, and tastes in your writing. Plus, the process of following a recipe or experimenting with ingredients can inspire creativity in your writing process.
Tip: Think about how food can symbolize emotions, relationships, or culture in your story.
Music
Learning an instrument or simply listening to different genres of music can sharpen your sense of rhythm and pacing in writing. Music is emotional, and it can teach you how to evoke deep emotions in your readers.
Tip: Use music to influence the tone of a scene – think about how a specific melody or rhythm could mirror the mood of your characters.
Art and Painting
Art helps develop your observation skills. It encourages you to focus on detail, color, and composition, skills that are invaluable when writing descriptions or building immersive settings.
Tip: Try sketching scenes or characters. You might discover new aspects of your story as you attempt to capture them visually.
Gardening
Tending to plants teaches patience, attention to detail, and an understanding of growth and cycles. These lessons can translate to how you develop characters or plot arcs that evolve over time.
Tip: Use gardening metaphors in your writing to illustrate themes of growth, nurturing, or resilience.
Sports and Physical Activities
Exercise is a great way to clear your head, release stress, and improve your focus. Plus, many sports teach strategic thinking, teamwork, and perseverance—all useful traits for writing compelling characters or navigating complex plots.
Tip: Use the discipline of sports training as inspiration for characters who push themselves to reach their goals.
So, the next time you feel stuck, frustrated, or exhausted, consider stepping away from your manuscript and engaging in a hobby you love. Whether it’s a walk in nature, a cooking class, or trying out a new craft, you’ll return to your writing refreshed and ready to tackle your next chapter with new perspective.
To your book!
Megan
