Does the idea of a story come easy to you? But once you have written the initial idea down, the feeling for the story dwindles and then you are lured away onto other projects. Coming back to it is always the hardest part.
Or maybe you start off really well, and then you have just crossed the half-way point and you dry up, and the thought of going back to it makes you wince inside? Do you also have many half-finished manuscripts sitting on your computer, and many abandoned notepads waiting to be edited?
Continuing to write until the very end is the hardest part of all, so if you have got to this point, congratulations!
The sheer lift you feel when new ideas start to flow, and a new story starts to form that gets you excited and you just can't wait to get it all down. You know it is going to be amazing and unique and it is something you would want to read, and it will be wonderful. You are having fun, you are looking forward to writing, the anticipation of getting everything in your head on paper or notepad is so tangible, you have to do it here and now. Writers live for this feeling, this flow, it is their energy force and their drug.
When everything is going smoothly and there is nowhere in the world you would rather be, just you and the sound of the tapping on the PC, or maybe the ink flow from the pen carrying you away from page to page, this is the life and you were born to be a writer.
Then let me take you to the other side of this feeling as a writer. Remembering the times when the voice of doubt strikes, and sounds an alarm inside. This is our inner self-doubt, saying to us we are not good enough to write. Why are we even bothering? We will never get published. Why even start in the first place?
Then it can get even worse, if that is even possible. Yes, you may start to feel anxiety and hatred towards your words, or an angry frustration feeling when the words will not go down the way you envisioned them in your head. How maddening when you can envision it clearly, but you are not forming it the way you wanted when it comes to transferring it into written words.
Even people with well-established books out there, many may well be onto their 5th book or more, and they still ask themselves what on earth are they doing writing? Who reads it anyway? Are we not just embarrassing ourselves? So if any comfort is to be had at this point, we are not alone. Far from it.
You can indeed manage all of this, and overcome the negative thoughts that sometimes override our positive flow.
When you find the writing isn't flowing, there is one thing you need to do, and it is just 4 words.
'Stop writing, start reading.'Reading is the best thing to do if this happens, as it can kick start the flow again. You will come across sentences that inspire or sound just like what you are trying to achieve.
Read as much as you want, read lots of books, because all of a sudden, something triggers the writing voice off again.
When you feel low and start thinking of giving up, you might jump on social media to get a boost, only to find everyone seems to have won an award or is announcing to the world they have got a new publishing deal! Just remember at this point that you will always hear about peoples success, and very rarely about their failures.
Please read the inspiring and positive thought articles also on this blog whenever you feel that familiar alarm bell ringing. Learn the techniques and thought processes to get the negativities chased far away and then you can see that good-flowing track clearer, and you are only too happy to jump back on board.
Use negativity and rejection as a tool for your progress. So when you get that email or letter with 'sorry but this is not for us', know that most people go on to create an even better piece of work. Rejection is hated and we would avoid it if we could, but you need it in order to succeed.
You start to question your books and your words and this is what is needed. You need to do this so you can see it from a different way. Look beyond your own sameness. Experiment with other concepts of writing and ideas. Again go back to reading. Reading is the best source for a writer. Use every single rejection as a reason to grow. To write something different. Maybe that something different is needed to be wrote as that may be the one.
Articles on inspiration and changing your thoughts to Success and writing
Change your-thoughts--you-can-change your world
Then you can always go back to the other ones you so stubbornly refused to move away from at the time, but oh you so needed in order for you to move forward in your writing. You really need to see your book from a buyer's point of view, and to do that you need to have time away from it, re-see it as someone else would if they were reading or editing your book. Taking a break is not just ideal for you, but so important to build up the want and desire to carry on.
Once you find your joy in life, you will find the flow in your writing. Seek out your creativity by taking breaks and finding your joy.
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