Ever felt uninspired to write? I am sure you have; I have too. Sometimes, all it takes is a little visual stimulation. Look at an image or picture in front of you and think of a story, or a poem, relating it to the image. Let your imagination run free and see where it lands you. Here is an image to start. However, the world around you is an image, and if you do not have the visual sense and are blind, then your ears become your eyes – sound becomes a story.
Today’s inspirational picture is
Using Real Life as Inspiration
Ever felt like there is no more inspiration; like the well has run dry and your Muse ran away? Whether you are working on a short story, a novel, a poem, or a blog post, inspiration is right there – in real life. Think of news clips, bits of conversations that leak around you as you go about your daily routine, images of people at a distance that are without sound but rich in gestures and body movement – all that is inspiration, and it is free. Use it, it is there for the taking; it is there to inspire you and make your mind awake, but only when you pay attention and are mindful of your surroundings.
So, when uninspired, open your senses, awake your Muse.
To Write or Not to Write – That is the Question.
When doing some freelance writing, especially if you are ghostwriting for someone, you will be presented with many topics or assignments. Sometimes, those topics will be in clash with your values. You are presented with the dilemma of writing the article or not. What do you do? After all, if you are ghostwriting, your name does not go in it. However, your are still the writer of that piece, and you know it. Where will that piece of writing end up? So the dilemma deepens.
On one side you have an assignment that will pay the bills, on the other side, it will kill you on the inside to write it. So what do you do? There is no straight answer to this question. You do what you do, and you deal with your feelings. This is a personal matter and my motto is to live life, and everything I do, well enough so I can go to sleep peacefully at night – at peace with the world and with myself.
To write or not to write – That is the question. And the answer is yours.
Every writer is a writer.
At first glance this may seem as a sentence without much meaning or even much sense. However, what prompted me to write it was that it occurred to me that sometimes we are quick to criticize other’s work without going deeper. Some might stop reading at the first grammatical error they encounter, others at the first cliché. I have read about a best-selling author giving an opinion on another writer (now a best-selling author) and saying that the author did not know how to write. The author became a sensation overnight. I guess my point is that we should not judge or ill criticize the writing of others just because it does not follow our style and common rules. There are no Gods in the world of writing just writers.
One thing is to present a piece to the world that is poorly written and obviously, without much care – that shows in writing. Another, is to write different from the masses. We should work on improving our writing everyday.
What happens when writing does not meet your expectations?
There are many ways we can approach the answer to that question. It is a matter of individual experience, and whatever your expectations are as a writer. At one point or another we will ask that question to ourselves, to the writer inside, and we may or may not like the answer. Or maybe, we might not have an answer at all – at least yet.
Sometimes, you will work hard, and harder, but the results and rewards just don’t show up in a pretty package. What then? Do you beat yourself up? Do you get discouraged and stop writing? Do you take a break to clear your mind and find a new path? Do you just ignore your feelings and keep writing anyway? Maybe, you will think of another approach to your writing.
Whatever your answer, it is one that you must deal with to be able to find your way as a writer – I am still figuring that one. If writing is your passion, keep at it. If you have to try different approaches, then try them. If you need to take a break and clear your mind, then do so. Do what you have to do, and what you need to do to find your writing path. For some it will take longer than others. Look at the different life stories of best-selling authors. For some it happened fast, while others took years figuring out that they belonged writing.
I guess my point is, a true writer finds a path.
Change your daily routine – fool your Muse.
Most of us have a daily routine for writing. You might wake up early in the morning, turn your PC on, while waiting for a cup of coffee, or maybe you check your email right away. Well, one thing leads to another, task after task, and soon you are following your usual routine. Sometimes, you feel inspiration may have left you for a while, and you fall into a writing rut.
Sound familiar? It may take, a simple change, such as sitting outside to write (weather permitting) or just move to your living room with pen and paper instead of your PC, to break the rut and feel inspired once more. Maybe your Muse was asleep and you surprised her by changing your routine.
Give it a try, and see if it changes the atmosphere for you. Surprise your Muse!
Writing for Pleasure
You have deadlines to meet, and many writing projects awaiting you, but there are times when you just need to write for pure pleasure – just for you. It is important to nurture this part of writing and give it a place in your hectic schedule. If you only write because you want to get paid, you will be missing on this important aspect.
When you write for pleasure, you enter a realm of enjoyment, and you are opening the gates of inspiration. When this happens, ideas can come from anywhere, and you will experience the power of the written word. Many of us are so worried about making the deadlines and earning a living (out of necessity,of course) that we forget to take a bit of time to just relax and write for ourselves – just for the pure enjoyment of it.
From time to time, relive the early days of your writing career, and take a few minutes to write for the simple pleasure of it; recapture the magic.
To start the kick-off of Inkspeare Poetry Month I will post my latest poems. I’m far from being a poet, and my poetry does not follow any rules. So, think of it a freestyle poetry – if there is such a thing. To view some of my poetry, please visit the tab Totally Inspired on this blog.
About Private Level Rights packages
Mostly known as PLR packages or bundling, these are articles on a theme that are sold together, such as ten articles about gardening. Due to the fast request and search engine hunger for content, these packages have become popular. Many freelance writers will bundle a few articles and sell them as a package. PLR packages can be packs of 10 -20-25 articles.
Packaging your articles will allow you to sell them faster to interested buyers and also to play with the price, as it is easier to price a package than sell one article. You may or may not discount the price, it is up to you. If you feel that your single articles are not selling fast enough, maybe you should try bundling them instead. This can also be applied to any other artistic material you may have such as photography or e-books. Test the waters and see what best works for you as a freelancer.
What stops you from writing?
Since I can remember I’ve had a love affair with the written word. I’ve been an avid reader my entire life. My desire to write was in the back of my mind for many years. Deep down, I knew that I was meant to write, but I could not start. It was always something I would do one day, when I had more time, and life wasn’t so busy. Many years passed, and life got busier and busier, and I completely forgot about it – or at least did not think about it that much. It wasn’t until a series of unfortunate events, that I was forced to slow down and look into my soul. There it was, my desire for writing. Since I had nothing to lose, I gave it a try. It felt like a good pair of well-fitting jeans – comfortable and fitted. That day, I decided that no matter what happened I was going to continue writing – and I have.
There are many things on my plate now, but I won’t stop writing. Take a look into your soul – what is stopping you? For me it was the illusion of more time and the fear of not knowing what to write. At one point I was petrified, to glance at the piece of paper in front of me. It took something bigger than my doubt to put things in motion.
If you have thought about writing, but it seems very far in the future, get that image out of your mind. Pick up that pen or PC and start writing whatever comes to mind. It is just that first step away.
Inkspeare 