Matt B. Perkins

Writing

8 People I Follow for Creative Inspiration

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In recent weeks I’ve written a lot about habits, mindsets, forging the creative path, books that have helped me better understand myself, etc., and in that time I’ve noted a few creative individuals along the way that I’ve found to be influential.

Granted, there are countless individuals I could point to from throughout my life (authors, musicians, artists, athletes, etc.) who have inspired me. Today, though, I want to take a deeper dive into those I look to most frequently these days for my own inspiration. These are the individuals I follow on social media, and whose blogs or platforms I read, follow, and subscribe to on a regular basis. They continue to give me that nudge I need to keep moving forward with this blog and my own creative efforts.

There are a lot of things I have planned on the way, and a lot of these awesome folks have provided me the inspiration to dig deep and get moving. Hopefully they can provide value and inspiration for you, too.

Enjoy.

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A Note to the Lost and Confused Writer

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There are writers out there who are lost. Who are uncertain, afraid, filled with doubt, unsure of what step to take, where to go, what to write.

But there is something within, some inevitable force — what I like to call the “deep-down hum” — driving them, flicking their ears from behind, begging for attention, screaming in silence for them to create.

They are the ones who have been struggling for years, not to just find their voice, but to find the courage to actually step forth and speak with words on the page. The ones who have stifled their own creative efforts for fear of failure or fear of ridicule or fear of success or anything between.

I know this, because I am one of them.

But I know something else: when lost on the dim or fog-filled path, the best source of light isn’t a match. It comes from somewhere else entirely.

Photo via Canva

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The Pebble: A Poem

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A few months back I participated in a writer’s workshop called Creative UnBootcamp: A Course for writers . . . and those who want to be. The course was hosted by Jacob Nordby, author of the incredible Blessed Are the Weird: A Manifesto for Creatives, and it was one of the best courses on creativity I’ve taken (this is an organic tip of the hat from me, I’ve not been asked to endorse the program, I really, genuinely loved the course). One of the assignments of the course was to focus on one of three images that captures the imagination and write a poem based on your reaction.

The image I chose to focus on depicted a figure, who appeared to be made of stone, with a locked wooden door or gate on its chest. Behind the locked was a bright white light emitting in glowing rays through its cracks, and from the way the figure is posed in the image, it, to me, seemed as though this light suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as though something had awoken inside.

I couldn’t take my eyes of the damn thing, and it sparked something in me that I put together for the assignment. I wanted to share the resulting poem, The Pebble, as I think it’s a bit of an appropriate reflection of where I am on the journey with this blog, with the start of renewed writing, and what will be coming with more writing ahead.

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No More Resets: The Halfway Point

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The Halfway PointPhoto and design via Canva.

A little more than two weeks ago I announced my intention to form a new routine and keep it going for 30 days straight. I did this with the hopes of making that 30-day effort the starting point on a new path toward my own creative and health-fueled goals.

Halfway through, I’ve learned some things.

Things about myself. Things about my mind, my habitual thought patterns and mindset, and also about what’s actually possible.

This won’t be a lengthy report, but I felt, having crossed that halfway mark, it’d be good to provide a little bit of a progress update. Also, fair warning here: this post is sprinkled with moderately profane language.
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6 Books That Helped Me Better Understand Myself

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Fair warning: this is not the first, nor will it be the last, piece I write on books. I could write post after post about books, which ones have affected me in which ways, the same way I could about music, and how it all affects my perception of life and the beauty of it.

Here,  though, I’m going to focus on the six books that I’ve read in the past year that have really helped me better understand myself as a person, who I am at my core, how I’ve evolved, how I’m still evolving, and how they’ve made me feel more certain about my place on the creative path forward.

I should note that none of these authors have asked me to write endorsements of their books; I am simply pointing them out because they’ve left a lasting impression on me and have inspired me to move forward with my own goals in writing, running, and in art.  

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No More Resets: The Path to a New Routine and Mindset

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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hit the reset button.

On writing.

On running or building out a full workout routine.

On meditation.

Or on any form of daily routine in general.

It’s all gone to shit, everything I’ve tried, even methods of starting small and building gradually. I always seem to start strong then waver off after a short period. I’ve had a few successes, most notably with certain elements mentioned in books like Hal Elrod’s The Miracle Morning (for general routine building) or Jerry Cleaver’s Immediate Fiction (for writing). And for the record, those are two fantastic books, and I’ll get into great inspiring reads in another post soon, but for time-saving purposes, let’s get to the point . . .

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