It’s been a long time since I came around; Been a long time but I’m back in town, this time I’m not leaving….never and not until I finish this book hahaha. Thanks GaGa for the inspo to start this post!
Having writer’s block can be very excruciating. It’s a time where either there is nothing going on inside your head, or there is so much going on like a highway of ideas and scenes that your poor little fingers can’t type fast enough to the point where you just shut your laptop closed. That’s where I have been. Now finally back to a point where I can make a schedule, and finally to the point where my brain has managed to create a thorough filing cabinet to organize my thoughts, I’ve finally picked back up my book. That was a long sentence whew! But it’s out.
Getting to this place wasn’t easy. It took a few months for me to look at my book with a smirk again. At times I would think it was great, other times I thought maybe. But I’m grateful throughout this time I haven’t gave up on it. Let’s talk about the ways I got there.
Now getting ride of writer’s block only took me a few short steps. Long steps. But Basic steps. Here they are!
Pinterest Inspiration
Pinterest has become my biggest platform of inspiration to date. Point. Blank. Period. When feeling writer’s block or just having so many ideas and routes I want to take my book it can be kind of confusing aligning yourself back to where you need to be to continue writing and not just writing to see what comes out. Don’t worry that can be a good thing to for certain people. For me however, it makes me feel even more unmotivated.
Going through Pinterest tags of ‘writing a book’ or ‘finishing your novel’ or just plain ‘writing’ have really helped me get back inspired as well as help me find even more inspirations I want to pull from to put in my book. All the research is there. Just scroll and pin!
Playlists
We all have a main idea as to what we want our book to be about. One thing I focus on the most when writing is how I want my book to feel. Music is always a part of art. Being that most of us see writing in a form of a short film or movie I always go through my entire rough (when I say rough I mean barely hanging on) outline and play it like a super trailer through my brain and ask myself a few questions. What song is playing during the opening scene/first chapter? Am I going for a heavy feeling with a loud bass? What song or beat do you imagine or start to hum during the climax? Is Lana del Rey playing when that one character gets her heart broken again for millionth time?
With those answers, I scroll through my Spotify playlist or youtube and make a playlist strictly for my book. Getting into the music’s state of mind or setting the mood as most call it really get me going with creating more scenes and getting even more closer to my word count for that day. Give it a shot!!
Have Friends/Family Read Your Work
Having my friends or family members read my story or even a few chapters really helped me get motivated to write more. Especially if you let your mom read it. They always have something good to say-unless your writing an erotic story, you’ll mostly get nothing but smiles from them. When it comes to others, asking for their brutal honesty helped me get proper feedback as to what they liked and what they also wanted to happen. I’m telling you there is nothing more motivating than people asking you weekly if you have written anything from your book. Then making you write other short stories because they just want to read something of yours. That can
make your heart really swell.
Having live google doc writings also got my back into writing. When sharing with friends and writing as they read along in the shared doc proved to be quite fun. Especially when you try a new climax plot and instead of commenting on the drive they call you screaming asking you about the character and begging you to let something happen. In all, having a good support system of readers or writing buddies that you can bounce ideas off of is ultimately a game changer as to how you view your work.
In the end, getting rid of writer’s block can take days, weeks, or sometimes even months. The best books of all time weren’t written in a month. Don’t be too hard on yourself about getting a book done. When it is ready to be shared with the world it will happen and it will be just the right time and everyone who is supposed to read it will be at that exact time. Don’t stress!! Take a break from the book when you need to. That can be a great thing to do. For me, taking a break not only reduced my stress from it but also gave me the opportunity to look at my work with a fresh pair of eyes that way I can edit and pick my plot and path I want to take more precisely and with confidence. Don’t forget art takes time. Happy Creating!!
