Monday, June 24, 2013

What Gets You Writing

Typically this would be a Writing Prompt Monday, but I thought I'd switch it up a bit. Writing prompts are supposed to help you get the creative juices flowing, inspire you. What I want to know is: What gets you writing?

I'll find myself in slumps where I won't write at all. We all go through this. Sometimes it'll be a few days, a week. Other times I'll go without writing for months, even. When I get to that point, I often find myself feeling really bad about the time I'm "wasting." I know you shouldn't feel bad about taking writing breaks, but that doesn't stop the guilt, does it?

When I get to that point where I'm just completely lost for words, I turn to books. This is when I go to the library and check out a crazy amount of books, and just sit at home and read. Without fail, after I've read a handful of really amazing books, I always feel pumped up to write again. They say you should read what you write in order to gain experience and help your writing grow. And I agree. But I also use that idea to get the YA creativity going. I find it enjoyable, and comforting to put myself in the middle of several stories/worlds to get myself back in the flow of writing.

Reading is the most inspiring thing to me. So what about you? What inspires you? Is it certain movies? TVshows? Music? Tell us about it in the comments section. Maybe this will help others to find ways to get inspired.

Cheers!

5 secret replies:

  1. Reading helps me, too. Mostly reading books I wouldn't normally read. Like when I read Hunger Games. I was so sure I'd hate it and even though I did hate the last book, that was the final ingredient in the catalyst that got me writing regularly again.

    But sometimes I get in such a funk I won't even do that. When that happens, I turn to Buffy. I don't know why, but nothing pumps me up more than a few good Buffy episodes, any season.

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  3. Reading always works. Sometimes just staring out the window works. Sometimes just staring at the blank page for hours, and then...

    I'm always amazed when words come out, but they do!

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  4. I find watching TV helps me more than reading. I think with reading I'm usually too immersed in the book, but if I'm watching TV, I might hear a snippet of dialogue and it really gets into my head and becomes something else entirely. It also happens in the cinema, which is one of the worst places to have ideas because you have to try and remember it all the way through the film until you can write it down! (This also happens to me while driving)

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  5. I agree with reading. Not only does it encourage both rest and creativity, it may help you develop a voice you might not otherwise have found. I recently did a 100 word flash fiction piece that I might someday flesh out into a full story. Only when someone compared to Lemony Snicket did I realize we'd just listened to that on audiobook.

    Flash fiction is also great for getting story ideas. Sometimes just a little snippet can morph into an idea for a full-blown novel.

    And, yes... driving. Long drives get me making up dialogue that later translates into fully fleshed-out scenes.

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