Inspiration or Distraction - Is technology killing the creative mind?

As an adult, I had a television in my bedroom for about five years. Not only that, but the alarm clock is right next to my head, my phone sits on the nightstand, and my laptop was on the floor beside the bed. My doctor said I should remove all of these things from my room to eliminate all the electrical energy from my room. I removed the TV and laptop, and whaddayaknow, I sleep better, with less crazy dreams.

On Absolute Write Water Cooler there was recently a conversation about creativity being squashed by so many distractions, and it got me thinking - are we killing our imagination?

I've always tended to have the TV playing in the background, or music, as I came from a large family, and have a busy house, therefore, I'm accustomed to a more chaotic home. But, could all of these things be interfering with my 'what-if' factor?

The poster of the question was concerned by his lack of ideas-no matter how much television he watched, how many news clips he read, etc he couldn't seem to find fresh ideas. Could these outside influences be killing the gene responsible for our outlandish ideas?

Most of my ideas come from my dreams. Of course, at times they've come from other 'what-if' circumstances, or hit me while on the back of my husband's Road King, but I tend to remember the dreams and nightmares more often. Which, by the way, would contradict the whole 'remove the clock and phone from beside your bed' idea. 

Do you rely on outside stimuli to awaken your creative senses? Or do you prefer a solitary walk to get the juices flowing? Do you need silence, or do you prefer some inspirational music to get you in the mood?

How do you keep AIS?

Once again, I lay awake last night staring at the ceiling! As boring as that sounds, this is the time some of my best ideas come (my mom's always comes as she's drifting off to sleep). While I know I promised to start posting on a strict schedule, a little thing called life continuously gets in the way. However, having said that...I promise to try to post more regularly. Deal?

So, without further adieu, today's post. I kept thinking about my promise to bring writing tips by experts...but, as I lay in bed last night, I thought "who better to give advice than other writers?" Lord knows, I have plenty of those up my sleeves. I'll start the tips and add tips and advice from other writers through the next few weeks.

What's my topic, you ask? How to keep your AIS. For those of you who aren't Everybody Loves Raymond fans, that's A** In Seat.

Okay, CL, how do you keep AIS? Well, I'm glad you asked. Here are a few of my favorite AIS techniques and tips I've learned, read, or come up with over the past year or so.

1. Gotta have the noise. There are some days when I'll turn on the TV while I write. Now, this is not something you want to do if you're easily distracted. If I turn on the TV it has to be something I couldn't care less to watch; you know, Real Housewives of whatever County, Bad Girls Club, or some chic talk show.

2. Easily distracted by the television? This happens to me at times, as well. In this instance, gotta have the music. I always suggest building playlists around a specific book. I'm lucky enough to have a program to burn Cd's, so I can pick lots of songs, and load up a few discs. If you don't have this technology, there is always playlist.com. At this site you can build as many playlists as you want from their large music library. Or, you can choose someone else's to listen to. I prefer mine, thank you very much.

3. Make sure you have food or drink within reach. I'm not saying to keep a small refrigerator within reach, just a snack. My biggie is Jolly Ranchers. This is something I started after I quit smoking. I also have to have coffee or a glass of soda within arm's reach. If you keep these around you won't have to stop to search out a snack. There's one more excuse you can't use....

4. Don't turn off your Internet. Yep, you read that right. Personally, I found if I shut down my Internet I get overly curious and at times anxious. If I keep these things up and in the background, I'll see along the top if I get a new email and can head over and come back in less than a second (I'm obsessed with my email. Never know when an agent will contact you).

5. My last tip for the day is smells. I can see you all making faces. I mean scents, as in aroma therapy crap. I prefer lavender, or apple cinnamon during this time of the year. During the warmer months I lean toward floral or citrus scents. But, back to this season...I have incense sticks I burn in an ashtray (I no longer use them for cigs), or about six candles I burn throughout the house, as well as tarts I melt in a warmer. I get my tarts from the lovely people at Mr. T's Tarts and Gifts. If you use goat's milk soap or tarts, check these people out. Love their products, and they sell them at a great price.

Well, that's it for today. Was any of that helpful? What do you do to keep your AIS? Any strange rituals before you write?