Do you feel your motivation has run dry? Tired of inspiration failing to visit you?

If you read these Top 5 Inspiring Books, you’ll be gifting yourself a PERMANENT, life-long creativity boost.

Grab any of the books and get started on your journey to a happier, more creative you!

Note: None of these books, or any humans interceding for the books, paid me to say this. They’re cool and helpful, so I wanted to share.

Inspirational Books for a Creativity Boost

Grab any of these top five books for a boost of inspiration and motivation. Any one of these could be the magic spell you need to get out of creative block!

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

This might be the sixth time I’ve recommended this book in a blog or a video, but I’m going to keep shouting its praises, because I think it can help a lot of people as much as it has helped me.

Writing Down the Bones is a combination of writing theory, personal memoir, and practical exercises. It will both change your worldview and give you simple steps to get better as a writer.

Though this book is focused on writing, you don’t have to be a writer to benefit.

Goldberg’s suggestions are influenced by Zen teachings, so they’re applicable to all forms of creativity and much of life.

Write the Story by PICCADILLY

When I was transitioning to writing full-time, I knew I would have to pump up my word count in order to write enough to live on. To improve my writing flow, I picked up several writing prompt books.

Write the Story was my favorite. It was simple, but had enough requirements to give me a place to start every day. It gives you a story title and eight words you have to fit in the story, and then you have only one page of space to fill.

Obviously, you’re not going to make great literature in the book. That’s not the point. But I had a blast filling up a page at a time and looping in all of the keywords.

A note about Prompt Books

You DO NOT have to finish these to consider it a “success.”

I never finish prompt books, but that’s because once they get me into a writing groove, I go finish other projects. That’s the point!

There are a lot of prompt books out there. In Target by the calendars and notebooks, there are several options.

Pick what excites you and go for it!

Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Warning: This book is hippy-dippy. I like that kind of thing, but if it’s not at all your thing, this isn’t for you.

If spirituality appeals to you at least somewhat, and you are or want to be more in touch with your femininity, you will LOVE this book.

I have seen it appeal to both men and women. I have also seen it not appeal to men and women. It depends on whether you like the idea of connecting with folk tales in new ways to unleash your “fertility,” metaphorically speaking.

I really loved Women Who Run With the Wolves. It’s a master class in looking at archetypes and older stories, connecting them to your own experience, and crafting something new and inspiring. The content of the book will give you plenty of food for thought, while the form of the book is a great example of beautiful, impactful prose.

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Another hippy-dippy option! Honestly, if you like creating stuff, and you haven’t gotten hippy-dippy yet, you are missing out. Creativity is a wild crazy thing and it needs to be fed accordingly!

The Artist’s Way is a guided journal that will lead you to your most creative self. If you’re worried it won’t align with your personal beliefs, don’t be. It’s not going to shove spirituality down your throat; it uses it as a gentle guide.

I think most people could use this book and feel it speaks to them.

Full disclosure: I have not read this one myself, but it’s been recommended to me by several incredible people. I have looked through a copy that is waiting on my shelf, which I plan to work through over the course of this year.

I’m most excited about how concrete the book is with its suggestions. It gives you step-by-step activities, rather than “mindset” changes that you’re somehow supposed to wave a wand over your brain and integrate.

Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm

If you are feeling creative block, it’s time to dive back into the stories we all know. Or we think we do, at least. The Grimm version is often VERY DIFFERENT than what we remember culturally (which is more aligned with Disney than much else).

Fairy tales and myths connect to the core of storytelling and what makes us human. If you want to tap into that magic, get your own copy. Your feelings and responses to the stories will be great catalysts for your future work.

Any Myth Will Do

It doesn’t have to be Grimm’s Fairy Tales. It can be any book of myth or fairy tales from any culture. They all do the same things to our brains and our hearts.

Bonus Note for Writers

It is very popular right now to write things that are obviously inspired by myth or fairy tales.

This is especially true if the myth source is not Greek or Celtic. I know, I know, I also love Ireland, and I read Edith Hamilton’s Mythology fifty times in high school, but the market is flooded with these areas of inspiration right now.

If you have a connection to a culture that is less well-known to publishing, consider that as inspiration for your next story or book.

Does your creativity feel blocked?

Maybe you used to love your art... but the passion has run out.

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Whatever it is, something is holding you back from what you really love to do.

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Take this quiz to find out which Creativity Killer is holding you back… and how to beat it.

This personality quiz will:

• Take five minutes.

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