The Best Ideas Come from the Oddest Places

Ever notice how some places are better suited than others for creative thinking?  For me, they’re not the places you’d expect.  I know this because I’ve been wrestling with the last few chapters of my newest manuscript, Healing Eden, for the last week and the hidey-holes I’d expected to generate good ideas didn’t work so well. 

Naturally, I started out in my office since that’s where my flagrant twenty-seven inch iMac is situated.  You’d think it would be a great place for ideolizing.  It’s clean and tidy…even has a cozy, wood burning fireplace right beside my desk.  Perfect setting for a rush of inspiration, right?

From there I popped over to the kitchen table.  I stared out over the flowerbeds (which need weeding).  I soaked up the trees just starting to bloom (surrounded by leaves that need raking).  Still…

Yeah, neither of those spots worked for me.  In fact, those places just presented more things I needed to add to my already ridiculously long to-do list.  (See aforementioned leaves and weeds—which are sprouting from a paper-thin layer of faded mulch that also needs to be addressed.)

Guess where the magic happened?

#1 – The shower. 

I have no idea why I can think like I do here.  Some of my best ideas have come with a head lathered in Herbal Essences. 

Maybe the tile’s embedded with supersonic crystals that amplify my creative brain.  Maybe the water has some psychological, soothing impact on the hamster in my head.  Or maybe it’s like a liquid force field that blocks reality from penetrating my skin.  (Hey, I write paranormal romance.  In my world, that kind of stuff can happen.)

#2:  Long drives with the music maxed out. 

Between the blaring tunes and the hypnotic effect of driving, reality stayed at bay long enough for my creativeness to come out and play.  (And, now that you know I’m out driving around in this condition, you should probably read this.) 

#3:  Kicked back in bed after sunset, windows open where I can stare out at the lights of Tulsa. 

The daytime view does nothing for me.  Nightime?  It rocks my muse.  Maybe the twinkling lights do a hypnotic number on me.  Maybe I was a vampire in another life. 

Who the heck knows?  Who the heck cares?  All that matters is my special thinking spots are there when I need them.

What about you?  Do you find yourself more inspired in odd locations?  Or are you the type who can fork out creative solutions while driving the Indy 500 with one arm tied behind your back?  (And if you are, I’m jealous.  So try not to rub it in.)