The Treasure Hunt For Inspiration by Rumki Chowdhry

I did my MA dissertation on the 'Female Gothic.' Although Horace Walpole was the founding father of Gothic Literature with 'For Whom The Bell Tolls,' Ann Radcliffe was the founder of the Female Gothic. Her novels which ranges from 'The Mysteries of Udolpho,' 'The Italian,' to 'Romance in the Forest' contains all the sensibilities and struggles of a woman as well as the sublime, mystery and supernatural. I'm not going too deep into this topic because that would become another 12,000-16,000-word dissertation. 

Inspiration.

It's something many writers struggle with when hitting that wall, you know, that 'block,' writers block. We end up having to look for inspiration, maybe a nice walk outside or even a nap, hoping to dream the dream that would become a novel (sort of like Stephenie Meyer, who dreamed the dream that would become a bestseller within just a month...'Twilight.'). 

Nature.

I just recently took a 24-hour cruise from Sweden to Finland and let me tell you, it was nothing short of breath taking. I have no words to describe the beauty of the sea, small islands and lovely cottage-like homes perched upon emerald. Not even the rainy weather could take away the lovely experience I was having and am now sharing with you. Nature is that thing hidden behind skyscrapers and in between smaller buildings that city-dwellers have to fathom rather than directly view. This treasure hunt takes place in cities like London and New York City. Nature is inspiring and something that we should all strive to experience once in a while; especially writers!

That brings me to the point about Ann Radcliffe. She was a brilliant writer, in my opinion. I was thoroughly inspired by her use of description of landscape in France and Italy. But, here's the amazing part...she's never actually travelled to those countries before. What an imagination! 

Happy treasure-hunting, physically or fantastically!

Rumki Chowdhry is a regular contributor on The Unofficial 'Brit Writers and Writers Everywhere' blog