I’m an author, so I’m an artist by default. But I’m a very specific type of artist; not a painter or a sculptor or a singer or a poet. My creativity is expressed through sentences stitched together to make paragraphs which make chapters which make novels. Words are my tools. But that doesn’t mean I can only look to other authors to enhance my art.

I say this because I’ve noticed many artists tend to lean on art from their own “sphere” of creativity. I am finding this to be especially true among young authors just staring out; they tend to just read the works of their favorites and the “greats” to surround themselves with the spirit of creativity. Reading is great, of course, but it’s not the only way to get your muse going. As authors, we tell stories of life, and life itself is an art composed of many other arts. To write, you must live, and to live well you must experience much.

So if you’re a writer, go to a museum. Take a course on painting. Play a musical instrument. Sing, dance, sculpt. It doesn’t matter if you don’t end up good at these things; the important thing is to come to fully understand and appreciate them. Enjoy the art of life. Imbue your life with art of all forms, and your work will be better for it.