For whatever reason, every writer takes a break sometimes. But I know from my own experience and from my friends’ testimonies, that the longer the breake, the harder it is to start writing again. Here’s something that might help you get back on the writing horse.
On-line Social Life I do realize that the Internet is usually the reason why you’re not writing. But sometimes it also can help you to start writing again. If you take away the Youtube, reading articles and any passive behaviour, all that is left is essentially writing.
You write comments to people’s posts. You write blog posts. You write twitter entries. You spend hours on Facebook. But the fact remains. While procrastinating, you are writing hundreds of words. The key is to put that into good use.
Try to make your comments longer than one sentence.
If your comments look more like “Oh shiny!” or “Agreed!” you should try and work on making them longer, including an actual thoughtful opinion in them. Not only this will make your social interactions more effective (who cares about that?) but you will make a habit of putting your thoughts on paper… err… screen/keyboard.
Get on the roll.
It might happen that you have an unusually big amount of time on your hands. And instead of doing something productive you choose to go online. Well good for you! Choose that time to get ‘on a roll’. Answer comments, comment yourself, blog, twitter… Do everything involving writing. Those activities might not be extremely creative (in most cases, there are of course exeptions). But they set a good background for writing a paragraph or two and finally moving the plot a bit further.
I often open all my online social activities in new tabs and things I should write in a new window. And after two hours of typing my thoughts in responce to someone’s post or article. I suddenly find a strenght and determination to write a new article, a new paragraph. True, it’s not always effective. But nonetheless it works for some people.
Whiny friend
I bet some of you have a friend who reads your work. Maybe they even express their opinions and/or are really excited about your stories. If you do have a friend like that, keep them. If you don’t… Try to find one. A big fan of your writing will be very enthusiastic about reading the next chapter/installment/paragraph/part (however you post your stories) and will make a point of telling you that any time. If said fan is also your good friend you will feel uncomfortable just ignoring their inquiries.
No matter how annoying the constant whining is, when they are not irritating, your friends really are helpful and supportive. And in the end, it’s better to write that damn paragraph to shut them up instead of yelling at them and losing possibly the most useful people in your life.
Guilt
Too much guilt in your life in unhealthy. True. However. If you work yourself up. Feeling guilty about not writing might actually be very useful. There are many factors that can lead to guilt. Your own actions, or lack of therof. Reactions of others. But the most important is your own point of view.
If you decide writing is something you should be doing and it’s not just your hobby, you will feel guilty about not meeting a deadline or failing to complete a story.
My friend Nix is a great writer in the Fandom. But for quite some time she had a dificulty of meeting deadlines she set up for herself. With a mixture of progress reports for her readers and guilt, she managed to get into the right state of mind. And from what I can tell, she’s been meeting her deadlines for few months now.
Threats a.k.a. Outside factors
You may believe it or not, but fear of concequences is a great motivator. This is why deadlines set by an outside factor (publisher, or a challenger) work so much better than the ones you set for yorself. That’s why writing for someone/something if a very good way to keep moving forward.
Of course I’m not talking serious concequesnces like financial fees or anything. Those would drive any writer into a stress driven paranoia that “they are out to get us”. However any contest or bigger community event such as NaNoWriMo or any kind of flashfic community can be a boost for your writing.
If you’re more serious about your writing and need something bigger, than a deadline set by a publisher or an agent might be a perfect choice for you. Though be careful in this case. Because official deadlines does influence your professional life.
However you look at this, everything mentioned in this post can be useful to force yourself back to writing. However you need to keep in mind that not only it all depends on your inner strenght and the way you function; but it’s quite possible that what works for others might not work for you.
All you really need is taking a deep breath and deciding that you want to write something. Sooner or later you will.
Good luck.
This intel first appeared on: http://allwrittendown.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/how-to-start-writing...
