This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, which, even though it’s still spring, marks the beginning of summer fun!

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy, right? But writers need to keep writing! What can we do to keep our creative ideas going when we long to go down the shore, sit by the pool, have a picnic with the grands, or sip honeysuckle lemonade while we rock on the front porch?

(Yeah, honeysuckle lemonade. It’s a thing. Or at least it will be when I make it.)

The NUMBER ONE way I stay creative is to take nature walks. And you can take them anywhere!  Let’s take a look.

In the Country

I live out in the country in Southern NJ. We are basically on my husband’s family farm’s land. For a girl who grew up in town, this is heaven. Not only do I now have 2 backyard garden plots, I also have a fairy herb garden, two major clothes lines, and long country roads to walk.

I’m always on the lookout for fairies, gnomes, and any other fantastical creature or plant. Or evidence of them. 

I’ve found fairy homes, fairy rings, trees that are eating the wood gnomes who care for them, and emerging dragons.

I’ve also found a destroyed fairy ring (WHO DID IT???) and an assassinated dragonfly king.

I’ve had visitations from an old crow I’ve dubbed The Ancient One.

The animal life is amazing out here. I’ve seen a standoff between a bald eagle and a turkey buzzard over a deer carcass (the eagle won), territory claims between turkey flocks, and small hawks diving down to grab birds and mice.

We have skunks, groundhogs, raccoons, deer, red foxes, and more.

There are Canada geese, blue herons, and sometimes otters in the old irrigation pond the farm no longer uses.

And BUGS.  So. Many. Bugs. The spiders are nuts out here. My favorite spider was a garden spider, also known as a writing spider (how cool is THAT?). They’re poisonous, as is easily seen in their coloring, but they aren’t deadly to people.

Then there are horn worms, which look like they came from outer space!  UGH.

In Town & Cities

Many towns and cities have parks, so you can find lots of nature there to pique your imagination. They often have the added features of playgrounds and fountains, too!

You can watch kids play to your heart’s content! This is important for children’s authors. We need to know how kids interact with each other, what they say, and what they like.

It’s super fun to watch kids when the ice cream truck comes around, too.

But there are other cool things you can see when you aren’t out in nature or in a park. For instance, in cities there are tons of lights. This can be fun after the rain when you can see all the beautiful reflections! My friend took this very cool picture of a puddle in NYC, and my speculative brain saw the portal right away.

Walk in Every Season

You don’t have to wait until warm weather to find cool and fun things to put in a story. And sometimes, you don’t even have to leave the house. Look at these “ice spiders” I saw out the front window (grass clumps sticking out of the snow).

Pictures of Real Things in Nature

One of the things Facebook is good for is seeing pictures other people take. I’ve saved so many of my friends’ pictures of ice formations, trees that look like things other than trees, and places I’ve never been to, like National Parks.

Look Up

Don’t forget to look up! This is a shot I took out our front window when I was trying to get a picture of the moon. It wasn’t until I looked at it that I saw the dragon coming to eat it.

Now there’s a story I have to write!

I have lots of pictures I wish I could share, but it would take up way too much room. However, I just now got an idea for a blog series, so when I get that going, I’ll let you know!

And there you have it. If you’re stuck for inspiration, get out in God’s world and take a walk. It will be good for your writing AND your body! 

Just don’t forget your camera!

Pam Halter is a former home-schooling mom, has been a children’s book author since 1995, a freelance children’s book editor since 2006, and was the children’s book editor for Fruitbearer Publishing until January 2023. She’s the author of Fairyeater, a YA fantasy, and the Willoughby and Friends picture book series (available on her website.) Pam has also published short stories in Ye Olde Dragon Books , the Whitstead Anthologies and Renewed Christmas Blessings. Her first short story won Readers Choice in Realmscapes.  

Pam lives in Southern New Jersey with her husband, Daryl, special needs adult daughter, Anna, and four cats. When she’s not writing, Pam enjoys spending time with her grands, reading, quilting, gardening, cooking, playing the piano, Bible study, and walking long country roads where she discovers fairy homes, emerging dragons, and trees eating wood gnomes.