This week’s post comes from Kim Foster, a writer and editor on our team. In this piece, she shares 5 tips to inspire your writing. Enjoy!

There are many ways to approach writing, and sometimes it’s a struggle to come up with a topic. One of my favorite places to look for inspiration is personal experience: that funny conversation with a cashier, the way nuthatches hang upside down on a bird feeder, what my husband thinks I said when his hearing aids aren’t in. I used to think that I had nothing interesting to say. But no one sees life from my angle better than I do.

C. S. Lewis said in The Magician’s Nephew, “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.” This quote is packed with wisdom and a common sense view that we often see the same thing a little differently.

It’s all about perspective, and this comes into play in your writing. You are unique and so is your voice. Discovering your voice quickens your creativity—and you learn more about yourself. You may even look back at what you’ve written and think, Wow. Did I really write that?

You will find that writing down scenarios—funny, interesting, enlightening, even tragic—will help you practice expressing your unique take on a situation, and in the process, develop your voice. Here are few tips to consider as you begin developing your writer’s senses.

1.   Describe how you feel in response to an event.

Emotions are powerful. Transferring them to the page can be a challenge, but learning to effectively convey emotion creates a strong connection with readers.

I stood at the kitchen sink, stunned at the shocking news that a dear friend had passed away. Time stood still. I glanced out the window where finches were fussing over the bird feeder. I heard a car drive by our house. The leaves in the maple tree fluttered from a gentle breeze. Everything seemed in stark relief against the shock I felt. How could the world move forward when a precious soul had left this earth, and things would never be the same?

This was my attempt at describing a poignant moment in my life. As I later spoke the words to my husband, he immediately said, “You should write about it.”

Writing about how you feel about something is good practice in expression. Bring in what you see and hear around you. Explore what words you like to use—and research others in a thesaurus when you find you’re overusing an adjective. Synonyms bring in nuances that add richness.

2.   Allow yourself to wander to other points of connection.

As you start noticing small details, experiment with how you write about them. I have several bird feeders that attract many different species, all with different characteristics. I often write about the funny quirks I see in their antics. As I do, I sometimes make connections with childhood memories. How robins always signaled the beginning of winter, but where I live now, they signal spring.

I thought about the one-legged robin that showed up every year for five years—and I was inspired by its tenacity and vibrancy of how it hopped around the yard, despite its handicap, looking for worms. The point is I started making emotional and philosophical connections. And writing about the mannerisms of birds led me to unexpected epiphanies.

3.   Explore using sensory details when telling a story.

Think about the five senses when you write (see, hear, touch, smell, and taste). When you include these elements, you draw the reader into the scene. For example, if you’re writing about a friend’s experience of exploring a trail, you may start with an idea like this:

“She looked at the forest and thought about the trail.”

Think about the scene. What type of forest is it, and what does it smell like? And the character—what’s going on in her thoughts?

“The forest was lush and thick with growth. The scent of pine mingled with the moist earth. The guidebook said the trail was easy, but Elise wasn’t sure she trusted the description.”

The second description sets the reader in the scene without just giving the facts that there’s a woman, there’s a forest, and there’s a trail. Involve the senses, and you capture a reader’s attention.

4.   Describe interesting conversations, especially to bring color into a story.

Dialogues are my favorite to explore. Presented in the right way, you can say much about a person without spelling out what they look like. You can use subtle ways to reveal characteristics.

“What do you want?” his voice gravelly from smoking his fourth cigarette in an hour.

We get that he’s probably a chain smoker, his voice is rough, and he probably reeks of smoke. He could be nervous if he’s smoking that often. The question he asks seems brusque, making him appear unsettled and maybe aggravated. These are all inferences that set up an interesting persona.

If you are writing a back-and-forth dialogue, be sure to begin a new line each time the speaker changes. The visual break helps the reader keep track of who’s saying what.

5.   Read books of authors you admire.

I remember my mother reading a book by Erma Bombeck and laughing so hard she cried. It was my first memory of associating tears with anything other than sadness or pain. She demonstrated how writing could elicit joy and hilarity. When a friend introduced me to James Herriot’s books, I knew I had to share my discovery with my mother. His books are excellent examples of his personal spin on what happened in the daily life of a veterinarian.

Today, I look for authors who excel in integrating narrative with research, such as Susan Orlean and Helen MacDonald. They have very different voices, but they use the same elements of weaving storytelling and research. By immersing myself in excellent writing, I am strengthening my knowledge of what works and what doesn’t—in structure, flow, word choice, and style. If you find an author whose works you admire, see what else they’ve written and explore other authors in the type of genre you would like to write in.

These are just a few ideas that I hope will inspire you to explore writing more. Have fun writing about what you know. Then branch out and try writing about different topics. If you’re ready to learn more about adding research to your writing, check out this blog: “How to Do Book Research.” And if you’re a step beyond in your motivation and want to write a book, Stacy Ennis has excellent options to fit your situation in her Idea-to-Draft Accelerator program—including self-study or a live cohort.

You will never know what you’re capable of until you try. You may even surprise yourself with what you discover.