Even when it’s wet and cold and gray, Seattle is teeming with places that inspire our creativity.
So this week we caught up with best-selling Seattle author and speaker Scott Berkun, who published his new (seventh!) book Monday called “The Dance of the Possible.” He says it a “short, fast-paced, irreverent guide to creativity” that’s “for everyone who wants better ideas and to finish projects they inspire.”
Where in Seattle do you go for inspiration and to get creative work done? Scott’s answer is below, and you can send us your favorite spot (we’ll share ’em back!) here.
There are many places in our great city that I seek out for writing sessions, but my first choice is Redwood on Capitol Hill.
I’m often there at maybe 4:25 p.m. on a weekday, when it’s a dive bar that’s just starting to wake up. I can grab a booth, a cold cider, and take grand comfort in not taking the bar, my writing, or the universe, too seriously.
And that’s the secret for me.
Many people love Ada’s bookshop, or Elliot Bay Books cafe, and for good reason, they are wonderful places to work. But for me they’re too damn earnest and on the nose, packed with people trying hard to check all the boxes on the hipster creative checklist. More power to them of course, but for me it’s the dark corners, the run down spots that have earned their age, where I find it easiest to let whatever it is I have to say, on that day, fill the pages.
I never know in this city when I’ll see an interesting person (“What color is your hair exactly?”) or a curious place (“Why are there brick murals on the building at Second and Lenora?”) that gives me an idea for something to write about. It can be overwhelming at times. ‘The Dance of the Possible’ is my metaphor for how ideas are all around us, and we find different ways to let them in or push them away.”
With too many ideas we spin our wheels, but too few and we never get going. But that’s why I always have a notepad with me in this town. I can take in the calm of the (not so) secret Waterfall Park, or walk a few blocks to take on the touristy chaos of Pike Place, capturing fragments and little moments, trusting I’ll sort them out the next time I sit down to write.”
Now we want to know from you: Where in Seattle do you go to feel creative? What is your favorite place for inspiring ideas?
Tell us your top spot here and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a copy of “The Dance of the Possible.” Here’s a free chapter of the book, to get you thinking creatively 🙂