You want to write your first book but are looking for inspiration. In other words, you know that you have what it takes to write a book – but – you cannot. Well, you don’t exactly have writer’s block, but you lack the much-needed motivation to sit down and write.
You might feel zero confidence in your writing abilities and think that whatever you will write will sound blah. Perhaps, you even don’t know how to write anything. Writing is a chore; sometimes, you must squeeze out every word.
While you might have an amazing idea, you might be avoiding sitting down and writing.
But – here is the thing – every good writer has been through a similar phase in their career. And you aren’t a hopeless case at all – it is possible to find the spark that can help you write and even produce a best-selling book.
Here are some tips that will help you feel inspired and get motivated for the writing project.
Keep reading!
Start Over
Perhaps you have managed to write a few lines. Or – in the frenzy of your emotions, you might have managed to jot down an entire paragraph. But now you are lost. You are staring at the page, and nothing comes to your mind.
You simply feel uninspired to continue writing. The solution is that you can stop where you are and delete – whatever you have written, and start over.
Even if you have managed to write down a few pages, it is okay to give in to your impulses and do something as reckless as deleting whatever you have written and starting from a blank page. Believe us – often, the shock of deleting your written work will power your sleeping brain cells and get your creative juice pumping.
Write Anything
You don’t have to be perfect for your first and even the second or third drafts. In fact, you will be making many mistakes irrespective of whatever subject you might have chosen for your book. Your attention should be on getting your first draft completed.
And while you are at it, you will want to put aside your perfectionism and just write whatever comes to your mind. You can leave the editing task to a professional editor – ideally, someone who is an expert on the subject that you are writing about.
For instance, if you are writing a book on faith, then you should focus on getting the story on the page. Once you have completed the draft – or even a few chapters, you can get one of the best Christian book editors on board and assess the manuscript for plot holes, spelling, and grammar mistakes.
You get the point – you will want to focus on free writing now, and you can edit vigorously later. This process is also known as free writing. This technique will allow you to let your mind run freely and unlock your creativity and flow.
You will be surprised to know how easier your words will begin to flow. By writing freely, you will let your conscious mind rest while the subconscious mind takes over. During writing, you won’t be editing or judging yourself.
However, after you have done some writing, you will want to read the written content out loud to yourself. While you are at it, new ideas will pop up in your conscious mind, and you will be able to separate the usable material from the extra one.
Experiment with Different Forms
Perhaps you are an aspiring novelist – but you cannot find inspiration. In this case, your best take is temporarily switching to a different form and seeing how it goes for you. You could try your writing skills with a poem or a short story.
You might as well jot down a few lyrics and become a songwriter. Shake up your writing skills and challenge yourself while taking your creativity to different levels. Don’t worry; experimenting with different forms doesn’t mean that you are deviating from your primary goal.
It simply serves as a way to explore different modes of self-expression and turn on different regions of your mind which is the hub of all things related to creativity.
Watch Something Interesting
If you have been chewing on your pen for quite some time and staring at the blank paper with nothing coming to your mind, then you will want to put the paper and pen down and watch something interesting instead.
You might want to start by watching an interesting documentary. Make sure that it is a documentary that you truly enjoy. While taking in the details of the documentary, you will want to think about the different ways you could have narrated the story.
To take things a notch higher, you could also consider swapping names and details with other names and details. Real-life stories have always been a source of inspiration for captivating short stories and novels.
While watching the documentary, you aren’t aiming at retelling the same story – but – you can find inspiration from the event and tweak some of the details and integrate them into your own story. You can find amazing biographies and documentaries about inspiring people online.
Watch them, and soon your mind will be filled with bright ideas that you will want to desperately include in your novel.
Ask Yourself Questions
Sometimes we get stuck in writing and cannot find inspiration from the outer world, which means that instead of looking outside, we might want to turn our attention to the inside. By interviewing yourself and asking yourself crucial questions, you will be able to pull out snippets for the best story,
You will be surprised at how much you can learn from yourself and your life story – even if you aren’t planning to write a memoir. Never underestimate yourself as a muse. The moment you made the decision to become a writer, you already had a list of things that you wanted to share with the world.
It is time to revisit those stories and realize why you wanted to become a writer in the first place.
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