Inspired by Nature

Need writing inspiration for your historical fiction? Every writer does. Often, we become oblivious to the nature around us and how its beauty is more than enough to inspire us.

Observe flowers and trees as they change their colors during the seasons. Pay attention to how they make you feel. When you see leaves falling, what do you think about?

Nature-inspired Posts by Author Elizabeth Pye

Authors are often asked questions like, “How do you find inspiration to write?” So as an introduction to this new year, a collection of predominantly nature-inspired Elizabeth Pye quotes from last year are listed below. These posts published on Facebook in 2018 clearly were nature-inspired. You can see such evidence of how nature affects the mood in the following quotes and photos.

Looking back from December to January 2018

1. “May the joy of the season be with you.” (December 2018)
   

   May the joy of the season be with you.

2.  “A wonderful day (December 2018) at Barnes & Noble”
3. My Christmas Cacti are in various stages of budding, much like the chapters of my new novel, Mon Amour, Friend or Foe. (November 2018)
   

   Christmas Cactus

4. “My head is in the clouds as I move to chapter 22 of my work in progress, Mon Amour, Friend or Foe. The creative process never fails to thrill me!” (October 2018)
   

   Head is in the Clouds

5. “A beautiful sky like this one energizes me…better get to work on that new scene.” (September 2018)
   

   Beautiful sky energizes me

6. “Sometimes I have to take a break and enjoy nature before I start a new scene. BTW I’m about to start on chapter 20 of Mon Amour, Friend or Foe.” (September 2018)
   

   Sometimes I have to take time out to enjoy nature.

7. “Signs of autumn: shorter days, cooler nights, and golden leaves. How come the forecast is for a 100-degree weekend?” (September 2018)
   

   Signs of Autumn

8. “All is quiet after the holiday, and now I am starting on chapter 19 of my novel, Mon Amour, Friend or Foe. It’s getting intense for Paulette who has been invited to the Ritz”(September 2018)
   

   Nature – bird perched on a rooftop

9. “Most decisions are not easy black-or-white choices…neither should those of your characters be.” (August 2018)
   

   August Nature

10. Surrounded by a soft quiet this Sunday morning. (August 2018)
    

    A Quiet Sunday Morning

11. Nature’s Answer: the hotter and drier it gets the smaller the blossoms. (August 2018)
    

    Natures Answer – Summer Flowers

12. “Vibrant colors inticed my muse to submit a wonderful final scene for my latest work-in- progress, Mon Amour, Friend or Foe.” (July 2018)
    

    Vibrant Flowers

13. “Not just a pretty face” (July 2018)
14. Beauty in the midst of a heat wave (July 2018)
    

    Beauty in the Midst of a Heat Wave Flowers

15. Inspired by research, Kristin Hannah, WWII book (June 2018)
    

    Inspired by Research

16. “If Marc-Claude and she married, this fortress castle would be her home, too. Their children would continue the ancient line of the de Lavals. (May 2018, Quote from Return to Chateau Fleury)”
    

    Return to Chateau Fleury

17. Imagine (May 2018)
    

    Imagine

18. “A hint of blush revealed her innermost thought.” (May 2018)
19. “Now it”s time to be among the flowers.” (April 2018)
    

    Time To Be Among The Flowers

20. “Each chapter written is a step toward the completion of Mon Amour, Friend or Foe.” (April 2018)
    

    Each Chapter Written is a Step Toward Completion

21. Nature’s Lace and wonderful writing season. (March 2018)
    

    Nature’s Lace

22. Spring flowers inspire me to write another chapter of Mon Amour, Friend or Foe. (March 2018)
23. “I’m back on track with my writing. Some days I am ahead of others…just like the azaleas.” (March 2018)
    

    Spring Azaleas

24. “I’ve fallen behind on my writing on this beautiful spring-like day.” (March 2018)
    

    Behind in Writing on a Spring-like Day

25. “Somewhere between winter and spring.” (March 2018)
26. “The first of the camellias appear on a chilly day.” (February 2018)
    

    February Camellias

27. “It’s July 1940 and Paulette’s resistance work is underway in her kitchen in Paris. (Mon Amour, Friend or Foe)” (January 2018)
    

    Paulette’s Kitchen in Paris

28. “One crisp Winter morn
    Another chapter is born
    Ink on pages still warm.” (January 2018 Haiku by Elizabeth Pye)
    

    January Winter Morn

     

Nature Doesn’t Wait to be Photographed

What did people do before cameras when they wanted to capture a moment in time? They sketched, painted, or described it in words. Nature doesn’t wait to be photographed. Professional patient nature photographers, however, will sit for hours to take pictures of sunsets. But twenty-first-century smartphone cameras make it easy to take a quick photo of nature’s beauty as we hurry along in our daily busy schedules. Take a picture, and refer back to use for a painting, a poem, or a historical fiction scene.

Stop and enjoy the moments that nature surprises you with along your journey.