As a writer it can be worrying when inspiration and/or motivation to write are lacking. That's the stage I'm at right now and I'm trying to figure out why...
Partly it's family life, my youngest about to hit his teens which means I am a parent to 4 in this challenging stage of their lives. There always seems to be some crisis or other and I find it emotionally draining and hard to focus on other things. Of course, I should be looking at writing as the perfect escape from the strains of modern daily life, but it can be hard, at least for me, to get into the right frame of mind and switch off the worries.
Added to that I am still involved in operating our business, which has taken many twists and turns over the years. Thankful it's survived recent challenges, and now thriving, but also means less time for writing.
My writers' group and online creative writing group took a break over Christmas and New Year, not yet started up again. I now have proof that being around other writers and being given writing prompts are undoubtedly successful in helping me put pen to paper (or more realistically, get my fingers tapping away at a keyboard again).
There's also a lot of pressure to keep up the social media and advertising side of things and I can sometimes find I waste a lot of time thinking of content ideas for posts, without much progress. I do enjoy Twitter and engaging with the #writingcommunity, so I think for a while I'll stick mainly to that and focus on actually writing. Currently reading "Consistent Creative Content" by Lee Hall, so hopefully this will inspire me and point me in the right direction of where to focus my marketing efforts.
My follow up to my novel Behind the Curtain is sitting around the 12000 words mark, a good start, but still a long way to go! Better get a move on as quite a few readers have asked if and when a sequel will come out. If you're curious about my realistic fiction based in Romania, watch the book trailer here:
Hoping to line up a few events to talk about my book this year, outwith my comfort zone, but something I need to try. I'm enjoying the TV show Castle at the moment, where fictional crime writer Richard Castle shadows a NY police department to help inspire his writing. His enthusiasm for writing and funny lines in the show are kind of infectious, and make me want to get back to writing myself! Never been convinced about writing in coffee shops as thought there would be too many distractions, worried about laptop dying etc, but maybe there is something to be said for research and writing outwith your own four walls, like Castle does.
Bit of a ramble today from me, but I'm pleased that I have done writing in some form. What are your top tips for overcoming writer's block? Would you stick with what you're working on or try something entirely new to motivate you?
Comments