When I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, it transformed my life and my business. At the time, I was a life coach specializing in self-care. The book opened my eyes to a group of people who really needed to practice good self-care – creative artists.
Cameron has a luscious practice called the artist date. It’s a chance to woo your inner artist and inspire your creativity, whether you choose a casual field trip to a music store or museum or a more structured event like an artist retreat day.
I’ve noticed that when I take the time to step out of my comfort zone, visit new places, meet new people and do new things, I’m always rewarded with ideas. I wrote about this article idea generating strategy back in May 2008 in the post “Want to write more? Get out more!“.
Why not create a regular routine of taking these adventures? Not predictably enough to take away the spontaneity, but often enough to keep you guessing: what’s going to happen THIS week? We could even call it an article date – what do you think?
Writing prompt: Been somewhere new and different lately? Revisit the adventure in your mind and be open to any possible connections with the issues and problems your target market are facing.