Beyond the Page: How My Hobbies Shape My Life as a Writer

Finding Inspiration and Balance Through Baseball, Music, and True Crime

Writers are often seen as solitary souls. Stephen King once referred to writers as the secret agents of the arts. We spend our days hunched over desks, scribbling in notebooks or clicking away at keyboards into the darkest hours of the night. While there is truth to this imagery, we often overlook the passions and hobbies beyond the written word that nurture our creative spirits, even if it’s just by giving us an escape. For me, while writing remains one of my greatest passions, I wouldn’t be the man I am without the other passions and hobbies in my life. My life outside of the office is a mixed bag full of baseball, music, and a fascination for true crime and police work. While these interests do their part to enrich my everyday life, they also fuel the stories I tell on the page and the style with which I tell them.

Baseball: More Than a Pastime

My love of baseball goes back to when I was six or seven years old. At that age, I was spending a lot of time with my great-aunt Mary. She was my grandfather’s sister on my mom’s side. You could say she was the reason I became a member of Braves Country. I admit to being spoiled, as my first baseball memory was Game 6 of the World Series in 1995 when David Justice hit the go-ahead home run off Jim Poole, granting Tom Glavine’s wish when he said, “Just get me one, because they’re not getting any.” Glavine kept up his end of the deal, pitching eight innings of one-hit shutout baseball, leaving Mark Woehlers to slam the door in a ninth inning that ended with Marquis Grissom making the final catch in center field that has been played countless times since. So was I spoiled? Sure. But it led to a passion that has shaped who I am. Baseball is a beautiful, almost poetic blend of sights, sounds, and feelings, whether I’m cheering from the stands or from my living room. Thanks to my great-aunt and those wonderful years of Braves baseball on TBS, I’ve been a fan for life. Braves Country is real, and it has given me a sense of hope, community, and countless baseball memories.

For me, baseball has always been more than just a pastime. At one point, the game I love became the lifeline I didn’t know I needed. In the summer of 2021, the game I love and the team I’ve grown up supporting worked together to give me a new lease on life. I wrote about it in one of my earlier posts on this blog. I’ll leave you a link here if you want to check it out. Though baseball has been a constant in my life, it isn’t the only thing that has shaped my life as it is now. When baseball wasn’t there, I had another background track and a very dear friend to thank for making the right introductions.

Music: The Background Hum of My Creative Life

Even with baseball in full swing, no day is complete for me without music. Whether I’m spinning a classic vinyl—something I don’t get a chance to do anymore, unfortunately—putting together a Spotify playlist for every mood or situation, or simply letting a favorite album or playlist become the background music for that day’s writing, music is a constant companion. Music tells a story just like any form of writing does. I often listen to the lyrics of a song not just for the words themselves, but also for the cadence of the storytelling. Songwriters are storytellers too, and I find common ground between us in every song. I often incorporate music into my writing, whether it’s a song reference in a blog post like this one or my attempt at writing lyrics, music is a part of every stage of my process. From the walk-up music and background songs playing at Braves games to the occasional late-night drinking song, music connects me to memories, dreams, and my present self like nothing else can.

Remembering My Best Friend: A Lasting Influence on Me as a Man and as a Writer

I’ve had many influences on my journey as a writer and as a person. None of them had the same effect on me as my best friend Steve though. Steve was a friend in some capacity for almost twenty years at the time of his death. His brother and I were in the same class and became fast friends in middle school. Little did I know then as I watched Steve drop his brother off at school in that old Buick that I would spend many hours in that very passenger seat a decade and a half later. Steve and I bonded over music and a mutual love for performing, though I was very much in a shell. We’d spend hours talking about music, whether it was bands he liked I hadn’t yet experienced or songs we were thinking about doing on the next karaoke night. Steve had an uncanny ability to find songs that resonated with me. Thanks to him, my musical horizons, both as a listener and performer, expanded in a way they never would have without him.

Steve’s passion for music went beyond the sound. He helped me find the stories, emotions, and connections in songs I’d never felt that deeply before. Thanks to him, I now find a deeper connection with every song that comes through my headphones. Many of the playlists I’ve created since his passing are echos of our time together. There’s a song that reminds me of Steve’s singing talent when I hear it. Another one reminds me of the power of having such a close friend. Each song on that playlist is a testament to the late night talks, days spent together just enjoying music and each other’s company. Each song, each individual bar has its own influence on my process. Every time I sit down to write, I think of Steve and how his friendship made me the man I am today. Sometimes, however, it also makes me think of what could have been.

Gaming: Interactive Worlds and Narrative Power

Gaming has always been a hobby of mine. From the early NES and SNES games of my early childhood to the PC RPG games and MMO’s I’ve played as an adult, video games have always offered an escape, an opportunity to enter another world. Through countless hours of exploring virtual worlds, solving complex puzzles, and guiding characters through growing storylines, I’ve developed a deeper appreciation for narrative structure and character development. Video game characters develop similarly to those in books. As you go through the story in a game. I’ll use World of Warcraft, a game I play from time to time as an example. The player character goes through many changes during a story, particularly if you play on a realm that is focused on roleplaying. The stories I’ve played through and the lore behind them has played a pivotal role in how I develop my own characters, with each story allowing me to make decisions, consider the consequences of those decisions, and empathize with diverse perspectives.

The immersive experiences I’ve had during my gaming adventures have had a significant effect on how I view characters and story as a writer. Games often blur the lines between good and evil, often settling on morally gray characters in the role of villains and forcing us as players to deal with the internal struggle of moral ambiguity along with the external threat that drives the story. These experiences remind me that every character, even those who seem to fade into the background can possess surprising depth given the right moment to shine. As I craft my own narratives, I try to infuse a similar sense of agency, complex personalities, and unexpected twists that have kept me interested behind the computer screen. Even as I step away from the hobby in pursuit of my writing passion, my experiences in games continue to provide inspiration for my own stories to challenge and resonate with readers. 

True Crime: The Art of Unraveling Mysteries

I’m not sure what drew me to it at first, but I have been oddly fascinated by police work and the minds of murderers and serial killers all my life. I’ve always said if circumstances were different for me physically, I’d be a cop. When I’m not writing or working my day job, you’re likely to find me knee deep in some sort of crime story. I’m watching a documentary, listening to a true crime podcast, or searching for articles or blogs dealing with true crime stories, exploring the darker corners of human nature. True crime appeals not only to my natural curiosity but also to my writer’s mind, inspiring complex characters and intricate plots. It challenges me to look deeper into human nature, into myself. My true crime hobby offers with it a unique challenge, forcing me to look deeper into human nature and into myself, to ask why, and to explore the fine line between reality and fiction.

Hobbies as Creative Oxygen

As much as I love to write and enjoy my time at the desk, I’ve realized that my best work develops when I step away from the page and immerse myself in the things I enjoy in life. I even wrote an article a couple months ago about taking a full week off of writing and how it affected my process. I’ll leave a link here in case you want to check it out. During that time, I threw myself into my love of baseball, though the Braves have not had the best season this year. When they weren’t playing, I was listening to music, often immersed in the fond memories of how I came to enjoy the music I was experiencing. If I had the itch to be thrilled and/or learn something, I would find a true crime documentary or a video on YouTube. ID’s YouTube channel is great for this. I’ll link it in case you’re curious. I also particularly like KallMeKris’s true crime deep dives. She’s engaging and though crime is not something to laugh about, Kris’s mannerisms sometimes leave me unable to help to chuckle. You may recognize her from TikTok fame. I leave a link to her channel as well in case you’re curious.  But whether it’s baseball, music, or true crime, these hobbies provide the creative oxygen I need to keep living and writing with passion.

If you’re a writer or pursue another creative avenue, don’t be afraid to pursue your passions outside of your craft. Allow them to fill your life with inspiration, energy, and perspective. You never know where your next idea might come from. It may hide in a video, a melody in a song, or even the crack of the bat during a ballgame. Whatever your hobby, embrace it. It may be the key to your next masterpiece.

Final Thoughts

In reflecting on the influences, hobbies, and passions that shape my writing, I realize creativity thrives not just by itself, but through connection. Whether that connection is with friends, art, or the world beyond the page, each connection, hobby, or friendship, acts as a catalyst, fueling my stories with the emotion, complexity, and new perspectives gleaned from the world around me—along with other worlds. These experiences, both separately and collectively, provide constant reminders that inspiration is everywhere. The key is knowing where to look and expect the unexpected. You never know where your next idea will appear. 

If you, too, are searching for your creative spark, I encourage you to embrace the things outside of your craft that bring you joy and fulfillment. Let these things fuel you. Seek new experiences, foster new meaningful connections, and never underestimate your natural curiosity. Your next story could be hiding in your next conversation, the next song you listen to, or the next adventure you embark on. Keep exploring and let your passions guide you forward.

Do you have passions that fuel your creativity? What do you do when you’re not writing or creating? Are you watching something interesting on TV? Are you listening to a certain type of music? Perhaps you have a hobby that fuels your writing. Leave your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to have a conversation with you. I’m always interested in others’ hobbies and passions.