Hello!
I'm very excited to announce that I'll be doing a new blog format called Writer's Wednesday!
Since writing is an equally big part of my life as reading and the two of them basically go hand in hand together, I decided to include my thoughts/ experiences/ tips about writing on my blog.
I'm currently working on my very first novel so I'm far from experienced in this business.
However, this is not supposed to be about me being the ultimate writer's guide, it's rather about sharing my experiences and exchanging tips - I would like this format to be an open discussion where everyone can throw in some ideas.
For this first post, I wanted to start off by talking about where everyone has to start when writing: finding inspiration.
This is a very personal and individual process, but I'll introduce some of my ways of how I get inspired here - this may not work for everyone, but I hope it'll help you and I'd love to see some of your ideas in the comments!
Reading
This is the Captain Obvious amongst ways of finding inspiration but at the same time, it's one of the most effective ones for me. Sometimes, I'll read a book or a passage and I'll just get struck by inspiration and have an amazing idea (that often later, turns out to be not so amazing at all, but that's not the point) and other times, I am amazed by an author's writing style and it encourages me to work on my own style.
Essentially, reading is important in order for you to understand how books work and to learn what you like to read. Of course, you should never copy another person's work, but you can always get inspired by another author's writing and learn from their craft.
Keeping a journal
I've always had a diary but lately, I've been getting more and more into journaling daily. I feel like keeping a journal is a whole science for itself and if you need inspiration for that, I strongly recommend using Pinterest. However, I'm skipping all the fancy stuff like drawing and decorating and sticking stuff in my journal: the only thing I ever do with it is write.
And that's absolutely enough. What you write is completely up to you, but I always just sit down and write whatever comes to my mind. Thus, my journal is a wild mixture of poems, random sentences and just what I like to call mind spatter.
I would recommend keeping it as unfiltered as possible - after all, it's not there for other people to read but for you to empty your mind (again, you can of course do it differently, but that's how I use it).
Keeping my journal really helps me getting my head clear and also, sometimes I produce some halfway decent poems that I might even find use for in the future.
Meditating
Similar to keeping a journal, I use meditation to clear my mind.
If you're new to that whole zen and meditation thing, I highly recommend checking out The Mindful Movement on Youtube because they have some really good guided meditation videos.
I usually take ten minutes to meditate in the morning, right before getting out of bed. The effect of meditation gets stronger the longer and more frequently you meditate (at least that's what I feel like) but even ten minutes a day make a big difference for me.
It really helps my mind focus and clear my head. Thus, I am better at observing my surroundings and seeing things that I would have ignored otherwise which makes my mind more correspondant to inspiration.
Living your life
I guess very few people get struck by inspiration while just sitting around at home and waiting for wonders to occur.
Nobody wants to read about a person doing nothing and in order to be able to write about your character's life, you need to know how to live.
Go out with friends, travel around, take a walk,... even when you're not a very outgoing person (like me), there are plenty of ways to experience life to it's full extend, also for introverts.
You don't need to go partying every weekend, but don't sit at home all the time, get out of your comfort zone (even though it's hard, I know).
Be in the right environment
I know from experience that being around negative people can really affect your mind and thus, your inspiration, pejoratively. It may not be that obvious at first but longterm, toxic people really get to your soul.
I'm lucky to have supportive friends that constantly push me and make me feel better but have been in relationships that haven't exactly enhanced by personal growth.
Your environment is essential to your creative process - being around inspiring and positive people is genuinely uplifting and you shouldn't let negative energies intrude your path.
Write
Nobody will ever be creative while waiting to get creative. If that makes sense.
Essentially: just start. By writing anything.
May that be in your journal or in a blank document - what matters is that you start writing.
Creativity comes with being creative. It'll come as you write or even just as you think about your work.
You can have all the inspiration in the world and it won't help if you just sit around not using it.
So on this note, I encourage all of you writers to take a piece of paper - or a word document or whatever your preferred writing material is - and write.
Have fun!
xxx
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