on finding inspiration, one scribble at a time
what fuels my writing, and how i turn everyday moments into stories worth sharing

As I contemplated what to write about this week, I felt rather uninspired. I like to keep a Substack content calendar while still leaving room for spontaneity, especially when I have to write that piece. But this time, both the calendar and my mind were blank. So I headed over to my story database in Notion, where half-formed ideas exist as bullet points, saved references, or simply a sentence. One caught my eye. It was titled "finding inspiration." So fitting!
I love getting a glimpse into how others approach their writing process. Over time, I’ve realised that my own tends to move through three loose phases—nothing too rigid, but a rhythm I return to again and again.
three phases of content creation
ideation – actively consuming and letting my mind wander
connection – connecting the dots to turn ideas into something cohesive
writing – from draft to inbox
phase 1 — ideation
For me, inspiration doesn’t come when I sit at my laptop. It strikes at the least expected moments: when I’m at work, running errands, folding laundry, midway through a spoonful of yoghurt, chatting with a friend, or just as I’m turning off the light before sleep. Ideas are fickle things—fleeting, emotional, and sometimes a little mysterious. I’ve learnt to seize them when they come, capture them in the moment, and return to them later to explore. Before pen meets paper (or fingers hit keys), there’s this often unseen phase: ideation. Where does one gather inspiration?
actively consuming
We are the most consumerist society ever. And not just in a product-materialistic way. We spend our time consuming media, tiktoks, reels, books, movies, music, articles, art, food… sometimes rather passively. Just to pass the time, to stay occupied. This is fine. But active consumption is more enriching for the soul and the mind. I like to ask myself: How do the things I consume make me feel? What resonated with me? What didn’t? What did it remind me of? And then I extrapolate on this feeling.
ART
In my article and you? are you an artist?, I shared that one major piece of inspiration for me is art.
Going to art galleries allows me to travel through time, places and people’s minds. We’re lucky in the UK that most art galleries and museums are charities, and therefore free to enter. If you’re visiting Edinburgh, I recommend checking out my favourite galleries guide here.
Last year, I saw the exhibition Do Ho Suh: Tracing Time. Do Ho Suh is a South Korean artist who explores themes of identity and home. Having spent his life between Seoul, London and New York, the question “Where is home?” is a constant in his work. I’m originally from Belgium, lived in Canada for four years, and have been in the UK for five. This exhibition spoke to me on another level and made me wonder about home. What is home? Is it a physical space? A person? A feeling we carry along? Something we travel with? Could this be something worth exploring in a Substack article?
Beyond visiting exhibitions, there are other ways to draw inspiration from art. Art galleries and museums often hold talks, both in person and online. Some are even free. So I highly recommend looking at what the cultural organisations around you offer.
Another obvious source would be art books. I love checking what my local library has to offer, whether by browsing its shelves or through its online catalogue. When something piques my interest, I place a little hold. Diving deeper into someone else’s craft, understanding their inspiration, the themes they explore, and how they position themselves, is fascinating to me. Then I reflect on where I personally stand.
MEDIA
As a kid and teenager, I would buy a new magazine every week. I’m 35. Social media wasn’t a thing when I was growing up. Magazines were our version of Instagram and the like. We would read them from cover to cover, swap them between friends, have scrapbooking sessions, and create our own Pinterest boards. Nowadays, I don’t often buy magazines, but when I do, it feels like a real treat. Again, I flip through them from start to finish, read all the articles, and let those words and pictures sink into my mind. As a free option, I recommend Uniqlo’s LifeWear magazine. I’ve been collecting them since their launch in 2019. They come to the store every season and are full of inspiring stories.
Art books and magazines naturally lead me to books, whether fiction or nonfiction. But to be fair, all types of media are great sources of inspiration: podcasts, books, movies, magazines, press articles, and Substack pieces.
Let me illustrate how my brain works.
I loved Nathaniel Drew’s article: What if the solution is simple? The heart of this essay is that sometimes, the problem isn’t the thing itself, but rather how much of it we’re consuming. He illustrates this insight through his personal experiences with Paris. At first, he was enchanted by the city—its energy, beauty, and constant stimulation. But eventually, that very richness became overwhelming. This led him to move to a more rural area. A lot of people have gone through a similar move, especially after the Covid pandemic. I did too. Not from city to countryside, but from a big metropolis to a small city. I found Nathaniel’s experience so relatable. And his article prompted several questions in my head: Why did I move from London to Edinburgh? How did it happen? How did it feel? How am I feeling now? Do I have any regrets? I could turn all these reflections into an article on leaving London for Edinburgh. I’m keen to write about this, so let me know if you’d be interested.
Another article that made me think recently is Fragrance is a Ghost by Caitlyn Richardson. Caitlyn often talks about fragrance, associating notes with feelings or vivid imagery, and this led me to think about the fragrances I enjoy. I’ve been looking for my signature scent for some time (or scents—as I believe there should be multiple depending on our mood, how we want to be perceived, how we want to feel, etc.). Her articles have me wondering what scents or notes I like. What’s common in the fragrances I often return to? I could write about my journey towards finding those signature fragrances.
The objective is not to rewrite someone’s article, book, or movie script, but rather to think about it, let it linger, jot down some reflections, and maybe form an opinion. There will be pieces of media I just consume, find interesting, but don’t pursue further. Others will trigger questions, reflections, send me in all sorts of directions, lead me to search more on the topic, and sometimes, I write enough notes to turn them into an article of my own. Sometimes the topic remains similar; other times the thread between the original piece and mine is barely visible.
SOCIAL MEDIA
We talk shit about social media, especially Instagram and TikTok, and how they make us scroll for hours, losing time to it as our thumbs ache. But we can use social media for good. Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube are all search engines.
I’m currently contemplating getting a Paper Republic or Traveler's Notebook journal. I’ve been reading articles, watching YouTube videos, and searching people’s journal ecosystems on Instagram to see which brand would align more with what I’m looking for. I haven’t pressed the add to cart button yet. I could turn this reflection into an article: exploring what I’m looking for, how I plan to use this journal, the pros and cons I discovered through my research, and eventually the reveal, the purchase, and a couple of months in review.


letting your mind wander
Sometimes all I need is to remove myself from the hustle and bustle of life. How do I do that?
GO FOR A WALK
I’m lucky that Edinburgh has a lot of nature around—not just parks and gardens, but forests, hills, and seashores. When in doubt, I always turn to nature. It helps me remove any distractions, recentre myself, and put the worries away. And with those tucked in parentheses for now, there’s room for inspiration to meet me and let ideas settle in.
Sometimes, I only have 15 free minutes, so I have to make do with what I’ve got. Knowing how beneficial walking and removing myself physically from “life” can be, I do it. If I’m at home, I put on a jacket and head out. I try not to listen to music or an audiobook. I keep my phone in my pocket. I just walk, without a goal. I want to free up some space in my mind to bring up an idea that has been lingering somewhere up there. I just need to give it space to flourish, to return to it.
Those walks don’t have to be solely outdoors. I like to pop into a shop without even thinking about buying anything. I look at their displays and let myself be inspired by them. At the grocery store, I pick up ingredients and think about why I selected them. Is it seasonality? Something I saw online? Was I inspired by a dish from childhood, or a recent trip? And while eating, I can take note of what it reminds me of. In the tea aisle, I think about my favourite teas and flavours. Do I have any tea rituals? Tea bag or loose tea? Hot or cold? What’s my tea tray situation? When do I drink tea? When do I drink specific teas? Earl Grey in the morning for the classic cuppa, jasmine tea in the afternoon, mint tea after dinner for digestion, etc. What’s my mug of choice?
I also love stepping into shops to browse the clothes and displays. It’s like going through Instagram or Pinterest—but in person. What inspires me? Is it the seasonality? The colours? What does spring fashion look like in stores? What does it look like in my wardrobe? Spring fashion, spring cleaning, spring food, spring drink—I could elaborate on everything.
BE AN OBSERVER
As I’m exploring the idea of getting a Paper Republic or Traveler’s Notebook journal, I have also been exploring resources on the practice of commonplacing1.
This is something I have been active in, but it’s rather sporadic. I have a catch-all notebook, but I’m toying with the idea of carrying multiple notebooks for various purposes, safely stored in one of those leather covers.
Commonplacing led me to Robin Waldun’s Skillshare class: Turn Big Ideas Into Unique Content: Tools For Creative Writing and Research. We all have different ways of finding inspiration, but a common one I share with Robin is letting our minds wander, being a flâneur or flâneuse2. When I first started writing this article, I wasn’t quite sure how to articulate the idea of deliberately observing my surroundings. Then, while watching the class, I had an aha moment: the perfect way to describe it is that I’m a flâneuse.
I’ve often been told I have a great eye for detail—I tend to spot the little things. At first, it was just something I did instinctively, but over time and with repetition, I think I’ve trained my eye for it. Staying open to moments of inspiration and opportunity has become second nature.
Yesterday, I saw a dog with pink hair. I know—poor thing. I just hope it was a dog-friendly dye. But that dog clearly influenced me. Now, I want pink hair. Just for a while, to spruce things up before my next hair appointment. It also made me think: What’s my approach to colour in areas like home, fashion, design, etc.?
Finally, I probably draw most of my inspiration from conversations with friends, colleagues, or even strangers. Being an observer is also about being a good listener. When a conversation sparks something in me, it lingers, triggering more questions I love to return to.
phase 2 — connection
As we’ve seen, writing for me often starts with a random thought, a feeling, and then there's a chain of events in my head. Questions and thoughts start to ricochet. That’s why my Substack is called “a stroll of thoughts.”
However, inspiration comes and goes. I never know if an idea is going to land, or even if it will be a good one, if it’s worth pursuing or turning into an article. So I capture a lot. Therefore, notebooks are central to my writing practice. I always have one with me. I particularly love the Muji Passport Notebook for this. They’re small, compact, and easy to carry everywhere. When something pops into my mind, I can quickly jot it down on paper. I’m a firm believer that ideas travel. They are fleeting things. They may stop by you, and if you don’t catch them, they’ll find another target. So, having a notebook is essential.
Alternatively, I will use the Notes app on my phone, but it’s not the same. Putting thoughts on paper is more freeing. You don’t have to tap-tap-tap to delete—you can just scrap a word and move on, make a doodle, a graph, draw arrows, and connect words.
Everything begins in my notebook and eventually moves onto a screen. Next, I transfer those captured thoughts into my story database on Notion. This process helps me re-familiarise myself with the idea. It’s particularly useful because sometimes I quickly jot something down but can’t elaborate at the time. When I return to it, I can expand further, connect the dots, and gather thoughts under loose titles. I then rearrange the order. I often stop there for a while, allowing my thoughts to marinate—sometimes because I need time, sometimes because I don’t have the chance to develop the article further.
phase 3 — writing
If I still think about an idea later, or the flame reignites when I see it in my story database, I’ll follow through and dive deeper. I either pick up my creative notebook (a fancy name for a plain notebook) or open a fresh page on Notion, reread everything, and draw a plan. Once done, I get writing.
Writing often happens at my desk or in a café. I don’t have a set ritual, but a cup of coffee is often by my side.
STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Aka brain dump (but make it cute). I write everything that comes to mind, following the plan I drafted. Once I’ve poured my heart out—everything I had in my head—I close the notebook or the window. I let it sit. Let it simmer. Do something else. Sometimes this process is as short as an hour while I potter around at home. Sometimes I know it’s a first draft and it needs more time. I need more time, with and without it.
EDITING
Then I’m back at it. This is often a process of elimination. I’m a native French speaker. What French speakers all have in common: we love very long sentences. English is shorter, snappier. Even though I write in English, I tend to over-explain. Sometimes it’s necessary—sometimes it’s just added fluff. So I fine-tune the piece. I know that it will never be perfect, so I allow myself three edits: one in Notion, one on Substack, and one after I send myself a preview in my inbox. No more.
ADDING THE FINAL TOUCHES
With all my posts, I often have imagery in mind for them. Unless stated otherwise, all images shared on my Substack are mine. I add alternative text, captions when necessary, relevant hyperlinks, pick the tags, schedule—and bim, bam, boom, I’m done. I patiently wait for the article to pop into your inbox and hope it resonates. Because yes, writing is fun, but knowing that something you poured your heart into resonated with someone is even better. Comments and conversations are where things are at. It can also be a thought-starter, spark ideas, and without even knowing it, I’m back at it, like a reporter jotting down half-formed thoughts in my notebook.
Of course, there will be times when my writing is organised—and others when it’s full-on messiness. That’s the beauty of it, isn’t it?
I’m curious to know where you usually draw inspiration from and what your writing process is. Do you have specific rituals? Are you the type to just sit in front of a blank screen and have inspiration strike you on the spot? Or is it something you have to actively search for in your daily life?
Until next time,
Amandine
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“Commonplacing is collecting and organising information you care about to form your body of thought.”
“Flâneur is a French term used by nineteenth-century poet Charles Baudelaire to identify an observer of modern urban life.”
I have a Traveler’s notebook in olive! They just released one in a gorgeous red color:) I quite like it but as a lefty it is a little narrow in size but there’s plenty of customisation you can do with it!! Currently have my eye on a Louise Carmen Paris journal lol
I love learning about other people's writing process. Like your example with the poor pink-haired dog, I also agree that inspiration can be found anywhere and it is super useful to keep a little notebook on hand to, even if messily, capture ideas as they come. We can always take our time with them later, but I think its important to not miss out on them too.
I usually use notion as well, when taking notes or exploring ideas digitally, however, I came across another tool that helps connect ideas (picture one of those detective walls where they connect the clues to solve crimes? or the infamous "the L word" chart haha). I haven't started using it yet, but I would love to and I think it is great to see what connections we can find in what catches our attention or what are we most drawn to.
Here is the video I saw of someone explaining it in case you are interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTy_BInQs8&pp=ygUIb2JzaWRpYW4%3D
Lastly, I think fixating on smaller things related to what we love is such a good way to get inspiration - from art, from history, from food, books, anything can be used as a source of inspiration if we spend a little time with it.
Lovely post, as always!