31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing. How to find inspiration By Leo Babauta You can’t wait for inspiration.
You have to go after it with a club. - Jack London No matter how much you love writing, there will always be days when you need inspiration from one muse or another. In fact, I would argue that inspiration is not just a desirable thing, it’s an integral part of the writing process. Every writer needs to find inspiration in order to produce inspired writing. I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite ways of finding inspiration — some of them obvious, some of them less so. Blogs. “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” - Vincent van Gogh If you liked this article, please share it by clicking on the share bar below. Photo courtesy of Seedling-Chaos The (nearly) Ultimate Guide to Better Writing Fill out the form below and get your copy immediately! 10 Steps to Create the Habit of Writing. Photo courtesy of mezone “Habits are first cobwebs, then cables.” - Spanish proverb This, friends, is the linchpin: if you can create the habit of writing, you’ve got a wonderful foundation as a writer.
If you struggle to get in enough time for writing, or keep putting it off, or can never seem to write when you planned to write … you need to work on creating the habit of writing. Think about it for a moment — if you could write consistently for an hour (or two) a day: You’d write a whole lot over the course of a month, or a year. Well, the last item might be a bit of a stretch, but I’ve personally experienced the first four. My habit is pretty simple: I have two or three things I really want to write each day, and I write them as early in the day as possible. Writers are infamous procrastinators. 1. 2. Just as important as having one time for writing is having a trigger. 3. 4. How to Write an Excellent, Superbly Structured Essay. A Simple Novel Outline – 9 questions for 25 chapters « H.E. Roulo. Just as every tree is different but still recognizably a tree, every story is different but contains elements that make it a story.
By defining those before you begin you clarify the scope of your work, identify your themes, and create the story you meant to write. At Norwescon 2011 I sat in on a session called Outline Your Novel in 90-minutes led by Mark Teppo. I’ll give you the brief, readable, synthesized version. Answer 9 questions and create 25 chapter titles and you’re there. Here are the 9 questions to create a novel: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) Now, with those 9 questions answered to your satisfaction, try to fill in a 25 chapter, 75,000 word outline. Chapters 7-18 are the middle of your book. Chapters 19-25 depict the heroic act to victory.