Somehow I thought Mondays would become extinct in the new year. No such luck.

I couldn’t find a quote that expressed my point accurately so I made my own. 🙂
We would all love to go and write wherever inspires us, both in general and for specific works. Maybe you’re writing something that requires a dark atmosphere, or maybe your piece takes place on the beach and the sound of ocean waves would make a difference to your descriptive powers. Maybe you’re dying to visit a fantasy world and write there for a while. Even if your ideal surroundings are nearby, you can’t always be where you want to when you want to.
Enter YouTube!
I recently found some videos that have been making a big difference in my writing motivation. Sleep Ambient HD is technically meant to help you relax and sleep, but take a look at the images, especially the moving ones, and listen to all the great sounds that would come naturally in each place. Have a video up on your computer full screen while you write in your notebook, or put your Word/Pages/Scrivener doc next to your chosen scene. Hear the sounds of the area and see it while you write. I’m loving the ability to feel like I’m in these places while I sit in the comfort of my own home. I like the autumn bridge video, the forgotten shipwreck, the clear Caribbean ocean, and this entire playlist, particularly gentle balcony rain. I like them all, but these are especially useful for me right now.
If you want to sit by the fire, Virtual Fireplace has loads of fires in different atmospheres. I’m in love with this pub fireplace scene, I’m using this very soft crackling fireplace a lot, or how about the Green Dragon Inn from The Hobbit?
Speaking of fantasy, the channel ASMR Rooms lets you spend time in Harry Potter settings! Spend time at Hagrid’s place, the Gryffindor common room (or Slytherin for that matter), or in the Great Hall…at Christmas!
Pair any of these videos and their ambient sounds with music you love and you’ll experience a kind of inspiration you’ve never felt before.
There are tons of channels that make these kinds of videos and I’m so happy they do. I feel like I can spend time in whole other worlds whenever I want. There are so many times I don’t have time to go somewhere or I’m not able to, whether physically, monetarily, time wise, or because it doesn’t exist in real life. Now there are no limitations to where I can go and get inspired for my writing. Even if I want that coffee shop vibe at 1 a.m. on a Wednesday, I can have it. Just press “play”.