"Motivation
and Inspiration are always my most absent friends at any party. Know
what I do? Start the party without them. Eventually the bastards will
sneak in through the back door, grab a lampshade and drink all the
punch..." ~ Darling
That
pretty much sums up my entire blog in a few sentences. Inspiration
striking is a very real phenomena, made more beautiful by its
elusiveness when you need/want it the most. But it's time to be real,
here. If I waited for inspiration to strike before I sat down and
started writing, I would still be working on my first novel. And would
likely forever be working on my first novel.
But
I'll let you in on a little secret. Inspiration usually sneaks in and
grabs hold when you're already in the midst of writing. So the biggest
trick to overcoming this hurdle is setting a daily goal for yourself.
Whether it's 5,000 words or 500. JUST. WRITE.
If
you're not working on a novel or a project but need to write, Writers
Digest online has plenty of free creative writing prompts. I've used
them several times in the past just to have something to write about and
get those creative juices flowing. Who knows? There might even be
some material that might lead to something bigger (in a future post, I'm
going to discuss how/where I get my ideas for novels, but you'll find
one small idea is often enough to get started).
I love these prompts because they're so random - you can choose whatever speaks to you and just start writing.
If
you're in the midst of a project and you're at a barricade in terms of
moving forward (trust me... I've been there) try skipping around. I
don't write in a linear fashion (from the beginning of a novel to the
end). I typically jump all over the place, writing a bunch of scenes
and then pulling them together at the end. Frankly, I never would have
finished my novel if I didn't do this. I can be a pretty disciplined
person (and you'll find that you have to be in order to write a novel)
but there are even certain things that I procrastinate on. If there's a
particular scene that I really just don't want to write, I find it's
easier to do once I move on to another scene (like a steamy love scene
or a violent, climactic battle). Writing those scenes, you'll find,
almost sparks that inspiration anew; you get excited about your novel
all over again and the pieces that you dread writing will get much
easier to handle.
If
you truly want to turn yourself into a writer and incorporate it into
your life, then you need to make room for it. As with anything else,
you need to make writing a part of your daily habit. Obviously things
will arise in your daily life and you may not be able to sit down and
write for as long as you wish each day, if even at all. But make room
for it. Schedule some time each day that works best for you. Talk it
over with your spouse, your family, your friends, if you have to. Let
them know how important 20 minutes of uninterrupted quiet time is for
you. How important writing is to your life.
Without
delving too deeply into it, you'll find that you're a happier person,
more whole and full and able to give to others if you take care of
yourself first. If you feel that you are being deprived of something or
don't have time for that artistic/creative outlet, you won't be as
happy and other facets of your world will suffer. It's not rocket
science and I'm sure I'm not telling you anything profound that you
don't already know... but in order to be a writer, to call yourself a
writer...
...you need to be a writer...
~ A
© 2014 Angela Darling, All Rights Reserved.
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