writing lessons from non-written sources

When I'm looking to get a particular tone or feeling fixed in my head before sitting down to write, I like to spend some time thumbing through a few novels that are written in a tone similar to what I'm doing. I'm sure most authors do this to a certain extent. But as I got ready to write yesterday evening, instead of heading to my bookshelves I found myself listening to this song, over and over again:



This is "The Garden" by Einsturzende Neubauten, a little group from Germany that has been quietly turning out fascinating, experimental, deceptively simple music for the better part of three decades and counting. At first, I wasn't sure what possessed me to put this particular track on repeat, but partway through about the third repetition I started really paying attention to not just the mood of the music, but the spareness of its arrangement, the daringness of the musicians to let the song build at its own pace instead of rushing it. The slow, gradual buildup was what made the crescendo evocative and memorable, not the crescendo itself.

When I write, I have a bad habit of rushing full-speed through my rising actions so that I can get my climaxes down on paper, but last night I found it much easier to slow down and depict the smaller things along the way, the little details that make characters and stories memorable and engaging. The song I listened to isn't in any danger of being mistaken for a style guide or writing reference book, and yet it taught me a lesson that had a direct, immediate effect on the quality of my writing.

So, my question to you is, are there any sources that you have used to improve your writing that can't be found on a bookshelf? A song, a walk in the park, a conversation with a friend, a pet's antics? Are these writing lessons from non-written sources a common occurrence in your life, or are they more rare and sporadic than that?