Hello friends! First – isn’t this pic amazing? And it perfectly conveys my more-often-than-not frustration while writing.
I am currently working on the first draft of my WIP – and let me tell you, no matter how many manuscripts I start/don’t finish, no matter how much my writing style and skill improves each time, drafting still, for me, takes FOREVER. I mean, I’m not exactly an introvert. I’m not one of those writers who can crank out 10,000 words a day while sitting in their cramped office, shutting out all distractions. I have a family, I have friends, I have a puppy that needs to get her energy out. So, for me, my daily average is probably around 1000 words. Progress is progress, right?
Also: every book is different. Which means the first draft for one might take a month, but the first draft for another might take six. And that’s ok.
But it’s FRUSTRATING.
And it’s even more frustrating when you get stuck. You know what’s supposed to happen next. You know what your character will think and do and feel. You know what your supporting characters will think and do and feel.
And yet. . .
You just can’t put it into words.
And when this happens, I’m trapped into either staring at a blank page, racking my brain for any. single. idea – or staring wistfully at my favorite author’s latest blog post and wishing I could type and draft and publish as fast/amazingly as them.
And then I eventually shut my computer, rub my bleary eyes, and think that oh, I’ll come back to it later. The scene will magically snap together in my head while I’m reading Harry Potter for the thousandth time and then I’ll blissfully type away.
Spoiler alert: that never happens.
And then I’m at a stalemate.
So I think. And plan. And mentally scream at the skies, crying WHY ME? (Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but still).
Eventually, though, I end up reaching into my library bag to pull out. . .
Drumroll please. . .
A book.
Yeah, I know, I know. Gosh, Maeve, you’re probably thinking. You’re a writer and you read! That’s awesome!
But really. . .that’s the key.
No story is completely unique. We all take ideas from books we love, tweak them subconsciously a bit, plug them into our outline (or, if you don’t outline, your Draft Zero) and we write.
So when I feel like my mental well is completely and totally drained, when I feel the least inspired I’ve been since, oh, last week, when I’m hunched over like an ancient crone staring, eyes glazed, into fractured blue light, I read. I walk my dog. I text a friend. I take a bike ride to Starbucks and buy a grande mocha. (Don’t judge). I do almost everything, because anything can inspire you. Anything can refill that mental well, can light that old spark that urged you to write this book in the first place.
And once that spark is lit, once you finish that favorite chapter in Harry Potter –
Then open the computer.
Then settle your fingers back on those keys and type away.
Because if writing is really what you’re meant to do, if that project is really the one –
Then nothing can stop you from doing it.
Happy writing!
*What about you guys? What are some ways you get inspired?*
(Photo credit to: https://writingcooperative.com/somebody-already-wrote-my-book-73533c396806)
Love your thoughts/tips on this, Maeve!
Thank you!
Also, to answer your question, i like to…
-Watch movies that are both visually appealing and super interesting!
-read writing prompts online!
-try to imagine myself on my MC’s position!
-and like you said… read, read, read!!!
Being out in nature–like deep in the woods or by the water–really inspires me!
Music also inspires me! Listening to your favorite music while you write is something I totally recommend. It is actually one of the things that has helped me the most. Sometimes a lyric or a tune will actually give me some of my main ideas! And sometimes the artist that wrote the song helps inspire me to create characters.