Sparking the Desire to Write

We write because we love it. I don’t mean love in the “I love this pie” kind of way. I mean love in the desperate, hopelessly devoted, “I’ll never let go, Jack” kind of way. We’re writers because it comes from our soul. (I do love pie, though)

The funny thing about love, though, is that we don’t feel it in the same way every day. Some days, it’s a relentless burning in our heart that just has to come out. Other days it’s quieter and more subdued, like the easy affection between long-time companions. Then there are days when we just want to be alone. On those days, we know the love is still there, but for some reason we’re tired or stressed or feel creatively empty, and we want a break.

Sometimes taking a break is exactly the right thing to do. We step away, get some sun, free our minds, and soak up life before coming back and spilling it onto the page. What, though, about the times we aren’t able to be alone? Maybe we have a deadline that cannot be missed, or maybe next week’s schedule is filling up and today is the only day we’ll have time to write. When that day comes, what do we do? How do we rekindle our passion for writing when it really matters?

Here are some tricks that help me:

1. Listen to inspiring music. The right song can stir the heart and make us think. “Inspiring” means something different to everyone, so the style and genre are up to you – the important thing is that it makes you feel something. Personally, I’m a huge film score geek. In fact, several key scenes in “The Year of Lightning” were conceived and written while listening to soundtracks. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you love. Then turn it loud, close your eyes and let it flow through you. You never know what it might wake up inside you.

2. Read/watch something you love. Every time I watch an episode of Firefly or read a part of Watchmen, they put me in the mood to write. Why? Firefly is one of my favorite shows in the history of the ‘verse, and Watchmen is basically the Citizen Kane of comic books. Watching or reading something truly great makes me want to create my own greatness. It sparks my fire to write something that makes people laugh, cry, or gasp right along with the characters. It drives me to be a better writer.

3. Walk away for 20 minutes. “Wait a minute!” you’re saying. “This blog was supposed to be about writing and pie, not about walking away!” Well, you’ve got me there. And now that I think about it, there hasn’t been nearly enough pie in this blog. As far as the writing versus walking away issue, though, there’s a middle ground. If you don’t feel like writing, then don’t….for twenty minutes. Walk away and look at something else. Don’t think about writing at all….for twenty minutes. When your time is up, put that butt in the chair and start writing. Why twenty minutes? It’s enough to give our mind a break, but not so much that we’re tempted to stay away. We can’t accomplish much or go very far in twenty minutes, so when the time’s up our work will still be close at hand. Just that little brain-cation can be enough to refresh our thoughts if we let it. Then, once we’ve let ourselves slack off for a little while, we can get back to remembering why we love what we’re doing.