There are many such ways to pump up your creativity, and one of my favorites is music. While some writers find they can't do anything unless it's in total silence (and, I admit, most of WATER was written that way, even though I create a playlist for each book), I find music extremely helpful. The right song helps me visualize a scene as though I'm watching a movie. For example, when I wrote EARTH, I used a great deal of country music, including many of the songs from the score of "The Horse Whisperer." (The song "Hooking On" helped me write a key scene between Kincade and Allyson. The mood of the piece is ethereal and mysterious, which is exactly the atmosphere the scene needed.) I simply set a particular song on "repeat," and write until the scene is finished. Lyrics? No lyrics? Fast and loud? Slow and sensual? Use whatever the book requires!
For different books, I switch gears. My upcoming book, FLASHPOINT (Book Two in The Gifted Series), is quite a bit more action-based, and the music I chose for its playlist reflects that. For an important scene involving a rescue, I used Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero," during which Hakon quite literally plays the hero.
Don't feel that your readers need to like (or even know) the music you use for your book's playlist. Tastes vary widely, and a turn-on to you may be a turn-off for someone else. It's a tool to get the job done, and no one needs to see (or hear) it but you. That said, a playlist is one of those book tidbits you may want to share on your author website. Readers love to come to your site to discover a little more about the books they love. (I haven't done so, but I won't rule it out forever!)
So, there you have it: another way to kickstart your creativity. Keep writing!
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