Between
deadlines, edits and rejections it’s easy to fall out of love with our writing.
It can get so bad that we begin to dread sitting down at the keyboard.
When that
happens to me my mind begins to reprioritize my life. I can suddenly find a
million things more important than putting my rear end in the chair and
pounding out words.
When I begin arguing with myself, stating that clean
baseboards are more important than word count goals, I know I’m in trouble.
Today, in honor
of the upcoming holiday of love, I want to share some tips that help me fall back in love
with writing.
8 Tips to
Rekindle the Romance of Writing
1. Realize
that love is a choice—not an emotion. I know that sounds more like marriage counseling than advice for
writers, but truth is truth. I’ve made a commitment to what it means to be a
writer, and the means not quitting when times get bad.
2. Stop the
negative talk. The more
you bad-mouth writing—even if it’s just in your mind—the more you’ll begin to
believe what you’re hearing. This is an important step in returning to that
bloom of first love. Don’t taper off the negativity, just stop . . .
immediately!
3. Make a
list of all the things that made you fall in love in the first place. There was a reason you answered the siren
call of words. It’s up to you to remember it and then—write it down.
4. Set the
mood. Just like a
marriage is better with an occasional candle-lit dinner, writers also need a
little romancing. Choose someplace you love and write there. It could be a
coffee shop, or a cozy chair by the fireplace at home. Then add a little mood
music. Even if you don’t usually write to music, sometimes the change can be
just the spark to rekindle the love.
5. Make Writing a priority again. When
we take something for granted, we tend to push it further down on our
priority list. It's time to remember why you started writing and
re-establish it as a major priority.
6. Dress it
up—your writing space that is. This may mean sprucing up your office, investing in a new writing
program (Scrivener anyone?) or it might just be a new bit of wall art. It
doesn’t have to be expensive, just make sure it’s writing related.
7. Add a
little mystery. Start
your writing time with a writing prompt. If you’ve never used one before,
you’re in for a treat. It’s something that gets your creativity flowing. You
can type writing prompts into a search engine on the Internet and get thousands
of them.
8. Rekindle
the romance. Revisit the
things you love to write. If you’re working on book revisions, take time to
write a poem, or short story, or devotion. Or maybe just spend some time with
old-fashioned pen and paper, journaling.
These are the
things I do when I need to fall back in love with the written word. What tips
do you have. Be sure to share them in the comments section below.
Don’t forget to
join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie
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