by Kayla Shown-Dean

When the days get shorter and the mornings get colder, I come alive. I’m not sure why exactly, but in the fall, I find myself inspired and brimming with stories to tell. The harvest season simply has this effect on me. Therefore, I find it an excellent time to harvest creativity.

As a child, my cousins and I would help our Papaw Tex harvest what was left of the squash, okra, and cucumbers before the frost hit. We’d gather the veggies in large buckets and take them inside to my Grandma Joy who would can them for the winter. It’s easy to understand the harvest in terms of gathering produce like this, yet creativity can be gathered and stored much in the same way.  During the harvest season, there are five simple ways to harvest your creativity

Go Outside

With the beautiful weather and changing leaves, you may find yourself longing to go outdoors—I know I do!—and the lowering temperatures enable you to do more. I usually find inspiration while doing some outdoor activity, whether it is going on a hike, visiting a local park, or just doing yard work that I’ve put off because of the sInsummer heat. No matter what you do, time outdoors is bound to get your creative juices flowing again, which can help fuel some of your fall and winter projects.

Take Pictures

If you see something that inspires you, take a picture of it. We always have our phones with us, and with a little technology, it is so easy to create an album, either on social media or on your phone, of inspirational photos that you can revisit later when your creativity tank is running low. I’ve actually turned my Instagram account into a collection of inspirational photos like this. (Thanks to Sarah Shotts and her Venture Camp, I got a good bank of photos that should take me well into the new year—Thanks, Sarah!)

 

Journal

Whether you are a writer or an artist, I HIGHLY recommend keeping some kind of journal or sketchbook. My journal is filled with a wide-range of entries, from Purge Pages to poems to prayers. I write about anything and everything—and I do so DAILY. As with the photos, I revisit these entries often to refuel.

Listen to Inspiring Music

When it gets colder, going outdoors may not be a possibility. On bitterly cold days, I revisit my journal for inspiration, and often times, I listen to my favorite music as well. For me, this means Phil Collins, Phillip Wesley, and Plumb—hmm, I just realized all of those start with the letter P. Music has a way of taking us back, of helping us remember. So, if you’re having trouble gathering your creativity, try listening to some of your favorite music.

Socialize

Sometimes, the best way to harvest creativity is to forget about harvesting for a while. Much like the vegetables in my Papaw Tex’s garden, at times, we have to wait and let our creativity grow more before it is ready to harvest. Luckily, Autumn gives us lots of new and exciting opportunities to socialize, such as bonfires, hay rides, pumpkin patches, barbecues, festivals, football games, etc. Taking advantage of these social events will only give us new experiences to recreate in our writing and/or artwork; it also allows us to relax and not force our creativity—or harvest it before it is ready.

I hope I’ve inspired you to try some new ways of harvesting your creativity. I can’t wait to see what harvest you will reap!