When You Don't Feel Like Writing (Part 1)

"Writers block. No desire to write. Feeling like a time bomb. Need to get away." I sit shaking on my bed. Curled into a ball. I can't think about writing.  I need to get away. But what will my characters do without me? I brush away my exhaustion and pull my notebook toward me once more. I know something's wrong the moment I do. I begin to heat up. I shake uncontrollably and I realize what's happening. "I'm going to explode." I stutter. I widen my eyes in fear, and then, nothing.

This is me today. And I know you've felt this way too. We've all had those days. Days when we would much rather watch that new episode of Psych or Warehouse 13 (My personal favorites) rather than write. 

Maybe you'd rather play the Legend of Zelda or the Sims. 

Maybe for you it's reading that book you've been meaning to read for months or reading every post in the archive of your new favorite blog. (I've wasted hours doing just that.)

So what do you do when this happens?

You really wanna know? 

I say...just do them. Yeup. You heard me. 

Go watch that episode. Read the book. Play Zelda. Poor Link so desperately needs to be a Hylian again. He's sick of wolf form. 

I'm serious. If you feel you just need a break, chances are you do! 

You're creativity needs to be open to new things. 

It needs to take a walk, eat some ice cream, read new materials, get some fresh ideas, and soak in some more inspiration. 

It's impossible to just sit down and write for days. (Plus sleeping a couple hours.) 

You need adequate sleep, fresh air, new information. You're brain needs to be free. Because if it's not, you're work will gradually become worse and worse. 

You'll wonder, what's happening? Why can't I write as well as I used to? Why don't I want to write anymore?

Simple. You're killing your creativity. It's being suffocated. 

So to avoid that, I suggest doing something you enjoy. It might be just what you need to enjoy writing again. 

The Inspiratron!

Clicking on the image will enlarge it allowing you to read the fine print. It's always advised to read the fine print. ;)

"Are you running low on inspiration? Has it abandoned you like that pet mouse you kept in the cupboard when you were five? Have no fear! The Inspiratron is here! The Inspiratron is a device designed to flood your mind with ideas when you're feeling low! Just put it on using the handy Velcro straps that fit around your chin and voila! You will have ideas and inspiration galore!  To get the Inspiratron all it takes is a simple phone call to 1-800-INSPIRED! Our phone operators will set you up with just three easy payments of $9,999,999,999.98! Call now!"

Pretty ridiculous, huh?

If you can't tell by the introduction, I've been dealing with low amounts of inspiration lately. I'm not sure what to blame for that but I do know from reading a zillion and one posts about it, I'm doing it wrong. I don't really need an Inspiratron. (Shocking, I know.)

Have you been low on inspiration lately? You probably don't need an Inspiratron any more than I do. (Even if such a thing existed) What you need is far more difficult than you may think. Inspiration, contrary to popular belief, is not a muse. It's not some fairy sprinkling magic dust on you whenever it sees fit. And there's no sense in waiting for that to happen.

Inspiration is trickier than that. Because inspiration comes when you hunt it down and capture it. Not when it decides to come eat out of your hand.

Surprised? Maybe not. maybe you've heard this before. But even if you have, what does it mean for you?

What it means for me is this: I can't just wait for inspiration. I have to firmly put my rear in the chair and make myself write. I wasted an entire year after my first NaNoWriMo just waiting for my inspiration "muse" to come grant me the rest of my book. What do you know? It never came.

I heard (or rather read) people say, inspiration only comes in the middle of your writing. So why didn't I listen?

Since then, I have tried much harder than that first year to just get it done. But I kept finding myself waiting. For what? I could have finished so many writing projects by now if I had only made myself do it. I suppose self discipline has never been my strong point. Gee, ya think Beth??

Now, I just want to be done. (That's what you get!) I have found myself thoroughly sick of my WIP. I've been working on it so long. I have been having a harder time going to it willingly. I find it harder to write scenes that should come easy. Right now, I'm stuck. I wrote myself into a minor corner. Something happened quite by accident. My characters have no idea why, which is good. The bad part is, I don't know why it happened either. And I'm in the middle of the scene where it should be revealed. Ugh. Just typing this I'm getting frustrated with myself for it.

My point is, when you find yourself not in the mood or just waiting to hear from your "muse", remember that the best inspiration comes with discipline. It comes when you're writing.