The Crave

Every time I get stuck, I think back to a conversation I had with my favorite university professor who told me how all moments from life — no matter how mundane — could be used to fuel inspiration. “It's often the surprising ones — the memories you find buried under old letters, dried up biro pens, and half-used sellotape in the messy drawer — that inspire the most creativity," she said. Since I don't have an actual messy drawer to rummage through, I occasionally dive into my messy virtual drawer instead — aka, my Notes app. It's my favorite place to store (very) old passwords, good workout plans (that I never stick to), book recommendations (I've forgotten about), and a list of holiday destinations (that has grown over the last two years). Now and again, I'll scroll through it and come across old, boring, forgotten notes (some of which make no sense). One note from 2009 simply reads, "Lucy goosy" — a phrase my friend and I found hilarious one drunken night at university. The point that my professor was trying to make is that sometimes, a deep dive into your past can spark a dormant memory. It may not be the one you were searching for but could trigger or influence the direction of your writing and perhaps turn it into something more interesting, personable, and possibly better.