10 Things to Reinvigorate Your Creative
A writer's worst fear: the infamous WRITER'S BLOCK. (duh duh duuuuuh).
How do we get out of it? Is there a cure?
We've all had those times when we want to write but we just can't. We sit down at our desk and stare at a blank sheet of paper until frustration builds up in our little writer souls and we just want to start screaming or shoot something...or go reclaim our stolen treasure from a giant evil dragon who evicted us from our own houses. (To each their own, right?)
I'm going to be honest, sometimes there is not much you can do. Sometimes you just have to wait it out, and this doesn't mean you're a bad writer. It just means that maybe you've exhausted your Creative.
Here are 10 Things you can try to get your Creative back:
- Take a step back: Sometimes, we get so immersed in our stories that it starts to take over and stifle us. In the same way that we occasionally need to step away from stressful situations in order to move ahead, we also need to take a step back from our stories (as much as we hate to admit it) and let them sit for awhile. Meanwhile, you might try something else like music, or art or sports.
- Visit a Coffee Shop or a Favorite Haunt: Sometimes it's a matter of environment. Environment can influence your writing SO much, it's unreal. Try changing up your environment a little and maybe you'll feel more inclined to write again.
- Organization: Organization is a wonder worker. Make yourself a schedule and stick to it. There are several scientific studies that show people work better in an organized place. Tidy up your desk, your room. Clean the whole house if you must. At the very least, make sure that you have your notebooks straight where you can find exactly what you need. Having an organized environment might give you a significant motivational burst.
- 8-10 Hours of Sleep (SERIOUSLY): We are capable of SO much more when we have a decent amount of sleep. Unfortunately there are some of us who get those perfect bursts of inspiration at about 1:00 AM. Try to get a MINIMUM of 8 hours. Preferably 10. If you do get one of those midnight-creative bursts, go for it! Just take a nap the next day or go to bed early the next night. Avoid sleeping in. That kills motivation like nothing else.
- Go for a Walk: That's all there is to it. Go for a walk on a nice day. It helps to clear your head.
- Character Development: Sometimes a writing block occurs when we don't know our characters well enough. We can't know them on just a superficial, shallow level like their basic appearance and quirks. Nuh-uh. We have to know them inside out and upside down. This is actually SO big, it probably deserves a whole post to itself--but that's for another time.
- Fall in Love Again: Maybe you do have great character development and the story's going fine, but you just can't muster the motivation. Maybe you've even stepped back for awhile but you can't bring yourself to it. This is probably the time to revisit your world. Revisit your characters. Remember why you love them. Why do you love your world? What made you fall in love in the first place?
- Confidence in Your Work: This might sound dumb, but it's important. You have, have HAVE to believe that what you are writing IS good enough. Trust me on this one. Lots of times we writers will look over our page and think "What is this junk? Gosh, this sucks!" THIS IS A KILLER. Believe it or not, when you think your story's not worth anything, that will effect your writing and your novel will fall flat. You gotta keep pushing and you gotta believe that your novel is worth it.
- Reading: When I find myself unable to write, I automatically default to my next favorite hobby: reading. (Who else does this? Show of hands, anyone?) When you can't write, read. This will allow you to explore different types of narrative voice and style.
- Move: This is a pretty well-circulated tip. Get up and get your blood flowing. Lots of times, we authors like to just sit on the couch or at our desk for hours. That can get stifling or sloggish and blocks our "Creative Vein" (yeah, that's totally a thing...). If you find yourself struggling to keep it going, try out an activity. Writers go through SO MUCH mental strain, and to keep creating worlds to the best of our abilities we need to be 100% in all aspects. Physical, Mental, Spiritual, etc. We have to exercise it all.
Let's Chat!
- What do you do to reinvigorate your creative?
- What do you think is the most important thing to have in order to be a good writer?
- What other types of writing issues do you run into in addition to the infamous block?
Jenna, this is absolutely amazing. You're completely right and I can't wait to see where this blog goes from here. WELCOME!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, as a note: When I have writer's block, i put myself into the main character's shoes and then make up conversations with other characters as I go through my day. No, I'm serious. Your family will probably ask you what the heck you're doing, talking to yourself, but it really does work.
Thanks! I appreciate the comment! Lets me know there's actually someone reading this stuff! Lol.
DeleteOooh! That's a good idea, putting yourself in your character's place. I should try that! ;)
Jenna, this post is really well written and entertaining, I loved reading it!
ReplyDeleteTo reinvigorate my creative I usually skip to the parts I like. I know this sounds kind of bad, but it really helps me to just completely give up on the part or even the whole novel for a little while. I usually skip to a part I'm really excited to write and then when my creative juices are flowing, I'll go back to the part I got stuck on.
I order to be a good writer, honestly my only thing is, you have to write. Sure, grammar, character development, and good word usage are important, but I think that the more you write(or read) the better writer you will become.
Writing issues for me usually include writing emotional growth in a character. I feel like people are so complex, that its really hard for me to limit how much I write when talking about their emotions, which usually leads to me mercilessly cutting it all out later.
(Wow, I just realized how long this comment is....sorry. Anyway, I'm really excited to read the rest of your blog!)
Thanks! Yeah. I've heard that skipping is bad, but I CONSTANTLY find myself doing it, so you're not alone! Yes. People are SO complex and sometimes it's difficult to strike the right emotion at the right time. (I think I may be doing a blog post on writing emotion soon, but I am struggling with that myself, so I'm not sure what remedies I'd be able to offer!)
DeleteI love your posts! Especially your "Let's Chat"
ReplyDeleteTo reinvigorate my creativity, I do step back and do other things, and I completely agree with taking walks(I do that so many times when I have writers block). I also ask my brothers and sisters for any ideas on how to continue, it's surprising how much inspiration I've absorbed from my friends and family. If none of the above work, I write some short stories to take a little break from the same old plot. It also helps to read because the more you read, the better you write.
The most important thing to do for being a writer is actually finish and follow through with your ideas. Starting a project and never finishing is a mistake I have made. Being creative is probably the most important quality to have because there are many authors in the world and it takes imagination to come up with something original.
I am not going to lie here, procrastination is probably the BIGGEST issue I have with anything! Also I have trouble expressing the different personalities of all my characters. For instance, two of my characters have similar personalities, but both have their fair share of differences in appearances and such, but when I write it, I forget to express individual quirks that they have have which totally sets them aside from other characters. I also have a problem with officially calling my story complete, because when I complete it, I read it over and I see too many things I could change to make the story way better.
Thank you! I appreciate it! Yeah, character personalities are hard. Especially if you want your character to really feel authentic. I totally get it! Thanks for the feedback!!
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