Nourishing The Muse

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a wonderful six days at the International Kite Festival at Long Beach Washington and recharge my creative batteries. As I sat on a driftwood log staring at the rolling waves with a pen and notebook on my knee, I couldn't help reflecting on how lucky I was to have a setting that was almost guaranteed to breathe new life into my writing muse.

Of course, I had been writing consistently before my trip as well. As my favorite writing quote from Peter De Vries says, “I only write when I’m inspired, and I make sure I’m inspired every morning at 9:00 AM.” Authors can’t afford the luxury of writing only when it suits them, just like professional artists can’t choose to paint only when the lightning bolt of creativity fuses them to their canvasses. But there is definitely a difference between grinding out a few hundred words in an hour and the kind of flying-pen flurries that writers live for. Here are a few ideas to help those moments of inspiration come more frequently.

Daydream While Writing

Staring into space may mean unproductivity in most jobs, but for a writer it’s as essential as deep breathing while exercising. Each time I write, I always give myself permission to pause and entertain the occasional random thought that might occur to me before getting back to work. It also helps to have surroundings that relax and inspire me as my mind wanders, and I can definitely say that watching the crashing waves last week proved to be an inspirational distraction.

Try New Things

Everybody has a comfort zone that he or she would much rather stay inside, but the truth is that it’s outside that comfort zone that we find adventure and conflict. After all, most plots revolve around characters being forced into doing things that are uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and challenging. As writers, we owe it to ourselves to have a little adventure now and then as well. We should be willing to take a risk, however small, and study our own reactions. While at the beach, I went horseback riding for the first time in over ten years, and while I was nervous at first, I had a great time and got so many ideas for my stories (both horse-related and not) that I definitely plan on doing it again.

Celebrate Your Moments of Inspiration

At one point last week I was so happy that I had more-than doubled my writing goals that I eagerly shared it with my family and online followers. I think this kind of celebration validates our successes and reaffirms what we are doing with our time. Just be sure to only share your writing achievements with those who will understand and appreciate your accomplishment.

Write What You Want To

I have multiple projects going at all times, and I sometimes feel like I should be doing an equal amount of work on each of them. However, while it is important to maintain some level of progress on all your writing projects, you shouldn't punish yourself for writing more on something that you have lots of ideas for. This is why I recently changed my writing routine. While I still work on whatever project is next in line each morning, I now write on whichever story I want to during my evening sessions. This has resulted in more work done each week, and I highly recommend it to anyone that’s using a similar writing process.

I've said before that writers who only write when they’re inspired will never be authors, and I still think that’s true. But I also think the same can be said of writers that are never inspired. A successful writer is someone who writes even when they don’t want to, and writes even more when they do.