Fiction is the lively creativity boost I didn't know I needed
Creativity doesn’t require magic.
Sometimes it just needs a good (fiction) dose of Austen or the latest light-hearted murder mystery. (That’s totally a thing by the way!)
I was one of those kids who was always reading.
Much to my brother’s unending dismay, I always preferred to get lost in a good book. (He was more of the stay-out-even-when-it’s-pitch-black-outside-but-you-still-wanna-play-football type of kid.)
As I got older, other interests and studies took priority over reading and fiction fell aside. I mean, I was at university, then working full-time and then building a business! WHO HAD TIME FOR FICTION.
But that excuse got old quickly.
The words “what isn’t scheduled, isn’t real” rang somewhere in my memory.
And then a Q&A sesh for a group program I was taking at the time with Melissa Cassera ended with us talking about (amongst other things) coffee + our fave TV series + reading fiction.
Ok. Ok. Enough hints already.
So when it came time to set my goals for that year, I found myself writing “tend to creative endeavours” before I really knew what was happening.
(Important side note: I find those came-out-of-nowhere-but-feel-exactly-right type of goals are the ones that I have a LOT of fun making progress on. So keep an eye out for those!)
Part of that goal was getting back into reading fiction. Probably not as much as I did as a kid, but still a lot more than I’ve done for most of adulthood so far.
Why “read fiction” rather than just “read more”?
Firstly, it’s a slightly more specific goal (but not too rigid).
Secondly, I’ve read a LOT of business + self-help books over the past few years and to be honest, I got a bit burnt out from them. After a while, you just end up reading a lot of the same ideas over and over again (or worse – too many conflicting ideas!). Which means that you end up giving yourself WAY too many things to work on. And then you end up overwhelmed, exhausted and not wanting to pick up another book for fear of having something else that you need to implement RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND.
Please know that I’m not saying that business and self-help books aren’t valuable - they are and I’ve learned a lot from them over the years - but what can be dangerous is our obsession with them.
So I took this business/self-help book burnout as another hint to branch out.
Yes, fiction is something I read purely for fun, but it also just so happens to have some pretty awesome side-effects as well:
Less phone use
After my initial (and typical) reaction of “But I don’t have time to read fiction!”, I realised that if I cut down on my phone use, I would actually have plenty of time to read.
(I highly recommend using either Screen Time on your iPhone or the Moment app if you want a check up on your phone use. It’s pretty eye opening and you can’t trick yourself or argue with cold, hard data!)
So, instead of reaching for my phone first thing in the morning, and scrolling through Instagram as the last thing before bed, I’m bookending (ha!) my day with reading. And sure, while my life isn’t a perfect blend of perfect phone use with perfect amounts of fiction reading, it is a lot better. And that counts as success to me.
Sleeping better
Because getting caught on my phone late at night is happening less often, I tend to get to bed earlier and sleep a whooole lot better thanks to less bright screen time messing with my melatonin levels.
Sure, I still get caught reading late at night, but hey. It’s better than scrolling through Instagram or bingeing on YouTube videos! Progress, right? Aaand I do feel a lot calmer + more rested when I use my phone less and read more.
Writing is easier
I’ve always been a writer (and loved it) BUT I have noticed that it’s a lot easier to create content when I need to (including opportunities that pop up with tight deadlines).
I spend less time trying to think of ideas and more time actually writing them. Maybe it’s because there’s more space in my brain or because I’m feeling more rested, but regardless… whoop whoop!
Feeling more creative
I’ve experimented with fun hand-drawn reading trackers, 1-2 sentence book reviews on Pinterest and sharing sneak peeks of what I’m reading on Instagram Stories.
And in general, I’ve had more space in my brain + felt more creative when bringing ideas to life in this reality. Everything from retiring old programs, creating new ones and rebranding + redesigning my website!
Again, space in your brain is GOOD, ok? I can’t say it enough!
Content quality is up
You’ve probably heard it said before: reading makes you a better writer. That’s totally, 100% true.
I’ve edited some older blog posts lately and combined others into in-depth (+ fun!) guides. Aaand I’ve been able to make them noticeably better because my writing has improved.
And yes, time and practice are always factors, but I believe reading fiction has played a big part in honing my writing + storytelling skills too!
“Reading fiction makes you a better writer and storyteller. Yep. True story.”
So if you’re in a bit of a creative funk, or if content has been especially hard to create lately, try cracking open a good fiction book. (And maybe set aside the business and self-help books - at least for now. You can always go back to them later! Just give yourself a break for now.)
And if you’re in need of a bit of fiction inspiration, here’s some of my faves:
Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen
Persuasion, Jane Austen
Actually, anything Jane Austen
A Little Murder, Suzette A. Hill
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Three, Sarah Lotz
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (series), Ransom Riggs
Available, as they say, where all good books are sold! (Or, check out your local library.)
Aaand if you’re looking for some tips on how to read more (apart from cutting back on phone time), check out this great (+ non-hacky) video from Rowena Tsai. It’s a goodie.
Happy reading!
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