# How to get back your spark?



## SlimShady (Feb 4, 2013)

I've been very inactive when it comes to this forum and with writing in general.  I still dream of being a writer, but I just can't seem to get motivated anymore.  Has anyone else ever gone through this?  I still get ideas and think up stories, however I just don't have the urge to follow them through.  I mean I can't make myself sit down and write anymore.  I just feel so empty when it comes to writing.  I've struggled with depression before and it's really brought me down to a new low this time.  Have any of my fellow mythic scribes ever lost their spark?  If so what did you do to get it back?  

  I've been thinking of going back rereading a few of my favorite books just to get inspired and excited again.  I've also been contemplating on setting up new goals for myself to try to break into the short story market.  I really want to actually have something published before this year is over and I need to get off my rump to do it.  What have my fellow writers done to regain back their spark?  Any good advice or tips to make sure your spark doesn't go away again?

  Also, would any other young amateur writers be interested in setting up a writing group or something?  The writing group would have to be very freeform.  (Perhaps requiring a short piece of any amount of words every week or so)  I'd be very interested in conversing with other new writers and beginners so we can help out each others character ideas, world building, plotting, and anything else needing to be discussed.  I believe that if I had other people to write with and push me that it would be very beneficial for us all.  (Ex. I can help other writers by doing some pushing of my own )  

  Anyways, I believe I have begun to ramble and for that I sincerely apologize.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Feb 4, 2013)

You're going to have to get past this grand idea of inspiration. Writing well is hard work. Finishing projects takes hard work. I'm not saying inspiration doesn't exist. I'm saying that you need to sit down and work even when you don't feel like it...especially when you don't feel like it. You need to develop a habit. Approach writing like a professional that shows up for work. Set realistic daily goals and write the story in small, workable pieces, one at a time. 

Waiting for inspiration is an excuse not to write, born from a fear of failure. Understand this, admit it, then you can be strong enough to overcome that fear if you choose to commit. Inspiration as a muse will come, but she needs convincing.

"What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks 'the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat,'.... And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I'm writing, I write. And then it's as if the muse is convinced that I'm serious and says, 'Okay. Okay. I'll come." - Maya Angelou

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit."- Richard Bach

"You fail only if you stop writing." - Ray Bradbury


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## Butterfly (Feb 4, 2013)

Try to write something every day without fail, even if it is just for half an hour or even just a paragraph. It will lead to other things, and longer writing times. Apparently, it will only take 21 days for it to become a habit. 

HowStuffWorks "Is it true that if you do anything for three weeks it will become a habit?"


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## WyrdMystic (Feb 4, 2013)

Read, write and the spark will hit you...it will feel like a spark....it will seem like inspiration, but its not, its just you finally getting through to youself.  Good luck


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## Penpilot (Feb 4, 2013)

Here are a few articles where Neil Gaiman discusses

Writers Block: In which Neil Gaiman discusses beating writer’s block | StorySellerPro

The Muse: Neil Gaiman - Where do you get your ideas?

Fear: National Novel Writing Month

He says it better than I ever could.

Good luck


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## Jamber (Feb 4, 2013)

There's fantastic advice in this thread.

I just wanted to emphasise T. Allen Smith's idea of setting realistic goals.

A goal should also be something that's totally in your hands. Getting published this year might or might not be realistic, but that's a lot of weight to place on something other people have control over. The trouble is, no matter how well you write, you may not be lucky enough to run that story by the right publisher at the right time. I'd call 'getting published this year' a _dream_, i.e. something that, if all goes well and the gods are smiling, may or may not happen.

A more realistic goal might be: 'To write more colourful or vivid prose.' It might be: 'To learn exactly what I need to learn about structure.' Or: 'To make alluring characters.' I don't know about you, but these seem like fairly achievable goals to me, and best of all they're all in your hands.

Will they help you achieve your dream? That's not for me to say. A lot of things have to go right for that to happen. But if you work at the craft and set realistic goals, you should have much to feel positive about.

best wishes
Jennie


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## Anders Ã„mting (Feb 4, 2013)

SlimShady said:


> I've been very inactive when it comes to this forum and with writing in general.  I still dream of being a writer, but I just can't seem to get motivated anymore.  Has anyone else ever gone through this?



Oh yes, I've been like that for _years. _I'm only really getting back to writing now.



> I still get ideas and think up stories, however I just don't have the urge to follow them through.  I mean I can't make myself sit down and write anymore.  I just feel so empty when it comes to writing.



Have you figured out what kind of story you love to tell?

I mean, ideas are one thing, everyone gets those. But they are not the same thing as being inspired or passionate about what you are writing. Even if you like these ideas, a writer who lacks passion is just an ordinary daydreamer. What do you _love _in a story? If you know that, I believe you become much more focused and your ideas gain more momentum.



> I've struggled with depression before and it's really brought me down to a new low this time.


 
Well, there is definitely a corelation between writer's block and depression, just as there is a corelation between hypergraphia and mania. 



> I've been thinking of going back rereading a few of my favorite books just to get inspired and excited again.



I'm not sure that's a good idea. The things you've read and loved in the past will always be with you as a part of your style. And sure, revisiting them may be a good way to identify what made them important to you. But going back only to chase the writer you _used _to be is to backtrack and delay your evolution. You need to go forwards and climb upwards. Right now you are at a plateau but there are higher peaks ahead.

I suggest you read something new. Only, make sure it's either very enjoyable or completely dreadful. Those are the two things that inspire me the most: Things I love and want to emulate, or things so bad I feel like a genius by comparisson.



> What have my fellow writers done to regain back their spark?



Well, I read this article. Which kinda made me a little bit angry, but sometimes a little bit of angry is good for you. Anyway, I basically decided to treat it as a challenge, so now I need at least a rough draft ready by December.

Oh, and I watched all the Twilight movies, and basically went: "Yeah, I can write a better love story than this." (See above.)


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## T.Allen.Smith (Feb 4, 2013)

Jamber said:


> A goal should also be something that's totally in your hands. Getting published this year might or might not be realistic, but that's a lot of weight to place on something other people have control over.


Excellent point....



Jamber said:


> A more realistic goal might be: 'To write more colourful or vivid prose.' It might be: 'To learn exactly what I need to learn about structure.' Or: 'To make alluring characters.' I don't know about you, but these seem like fairly achievable goals to me, and best of all they're all in your hands.


I'd stress setting goals that are specific, measurable, & yet very attainable. A goal like "To write more colourful or vivid prose" is a bit too abstract. Its easy for excuses and opinions to creep into abstract goals. A better goal, in my opinion, would be "I'm going to write 500 words a day for 30 days, all dedicated to one project, and see what I get." You'll either succeed or fail, the outcome entirely in your hands.

One more point to the OP, a sentiment that has been expressed by some of the articles here in this thread:

Ideas are cheap. Execution is everything.


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## FatCat (Feb 4, 2013)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> "I'm going to write 500 words a day for 30 days." You'll either succeed or fail, the outcome entirely in your hands.
> 
> One more point to the OP, a sentiment that has been expressed by some of the articles here in this thread:
> 
> Ideas are cheap. Execution is everything.



You just have to write, the 'spark' always exists, it's the capability to relate what you think into prose that complicates things. Practice makes perfect.


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## wordwalker (Feb 5, 2013)

Find what you love: favorite subjects, authors you admire, emphasis on worldbuilding or action or description or whatever it is. You can build a story almost entirely out of the few things you love; if you see how people fit them together into a story, enough of the other pieces will fall into place anyway, and you mostly spend your writing time on The Good Stuff.

--in theory. The other side is that writing is *always* hard work, parts of it, and you always need sheer discipline. I think a lot of it is that even the most experienced writers rarely find it easy to _start_ writing a session, but after that they settle right in. I call it "the scary bicycle," you never forget how to ride but it still seems harder than it is.

Or, look at Alexandra Sokoloff: Five minutes a day equals a book.


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## Nebuchadnezzar (Feb 5, 2013)

This is the second thread in a row where I'm thinking T.Allen.Smith is awesome.  I'm not stalking you, dude, seriously.  You're just on a roll.

At any rate, I agree with him -- writing is hard work.  Very occasionally you get inspired and it all flows.  Sometimes the idea is so fantastic it writes itself.  But for the most part, even a fantastic inspiration requires a large number of pedestrian plot-advancing scenes to get to the big payoff.  You've got The Big Idea which takes 5,000 Muse-inspired words to write, then you've got the Blocking & Tackling that takes 15,000 words of hard labor to craft into a finished 20,000 word product.  It sucks, but that's the job.  A little imagination & inspiration can make at least half of those 15,000 words fun to write.  But never all of them.

For me, I've created a simple rule.  Five days a week, I have a one-hour lunch break.  It takes me at most 20 minutes to get my lunch and eat it.  That gives me 40 minutes a day to write one page of a story.  So I write.  When I'm inspired, I'll do more on the weekend or after work.  But at a minimum I've got a target: one page a day, five pages every work week.  I'll confess I don't always deliver on my target but I certainly produce a lot more than I used to.


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## advait98 (Feb 5, 2013)

Indeed even I have a goal like that but since I'm just a teenager, I have much more time on my hands. I try to complete about 10 pages a week as a rule. It has really become a habit and my day always feels incomplete without it. Nothing like writing to get the creative juices flowing.


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## drumwvu (Feb 5, 2013)

I've struggled with that same dark wool sweater that refuses to come off, too. If that is still an issue then it must be addressed first and foremost. Beyond that, I find that good music puts me into a place of inspiration.


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## Mockingjay Ignis (Feb 5, 2013)

SlimShady said:


> I've been very inactive when it comes to this forum and with writing in general.  I still dream of being a writer, but I just can't seem to get motivated anymore.  Has anyone else ever gone through this?  I still get ideas and think up stories, however I just don't have the urge to follow them through.  I mean I can't make myself sit down and write anymore.  I just feel so empty when it comes to writing.  I've struggled with depression before and it's really brought me down to a new low this time.  Have any of my fellow mythic scribes ever lost their spark?  If so what did you do to get it back?
> 
> I've been thinking of going back rereading a few of my favorite books just to get inspired and excited again.  I've also been contemplating on setting up new goals for myself to try to break into the short story market.  I really want to actually have something published before this year is over and I need to get off my rump to do it.  What have my fellow writers done to regain back their spark?  Any good advice or tips to make sure your spark doesn't go away again?
> 
> ...



I know how you feel buddy. I know i seem brand new here, but i came from a writing forum who outcasted me. (Long story) But anyways, i've been through the same rountine before, in a rugid depression, lack of writing and much more. Sometimes i felt like i couldn't. But that was yesterday, my life has changed drastically since then. Never give up on your dreams my friend. Everybody loses their stride at times but you got to pick it back up. I know for myself i haven't written in forever but ideas still stick to mine. I'd be honored to join your group if you want me to.


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## SlimShady (Feb 5, 2013)

I must really thank everyone for the wonderful advice.  It just goes to show how great the community is around here.  Wise words from every indeed and I will definitely be following much of the advice offered here.  I'm truly indebted to all of you.  Sorry if I sound a bit rushed, but I can't type very much on my phone.  I will return later to mull over this thread much more and give a longer much wordier reply on what I plan to do.  I will attempt to make a writing schedule and try to adhere to it.  

  Thanks again every!


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## Damian (Feb 8, 2013)

This is a brilliant thread. The advice from T Allen Smith is the best I have read and as simple and straightforward as can be. I needed to read that. Thanks


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## Anders Ã„mting (Feb 8, 2013)

Penpilot said:


> Writers Block: In which Neil Gaiman discusses beating writer’s block | StorySellerPro



As much as I respect Niel Gaiman, I believe that anyone who says things like "Writer's block is just laziness, perfectionism and getting stuck" obviously doesn't know what he's talking about. If you have writers block but can write anyway, you don't actually have writer's block and have probably never had it. 

It's really a pretty well-documented problem. Telling people with writer's block they're just being lazy is like telling people with depression they should just try to cheer up: Both unhelpful and kinda insulting.


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## Steerpike (Feb 8, 2013)

Anders Ã„mting said:


> As much as I respect Niel Gaiman, I believe that anyone who says things like "Writer's block is just laziness, perfectionism and getting stuck" obviously doesn't know what he's talking about. If you have writers block but can write anyway, you don't actually have writer's block and have probably never had it.
> 
> It's really a pretty well-documented problem. Telling people with writer's block they're just being lazy is like telling people with depression they should just try to cheer up: Both unhelpful and kinda insulting.



He says it is more accurate to call it a combination of those three things. I think he's probably right, personally.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Feb 8, 2013)

You could throw fear onto that list of three.


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## Jamber (Feb 8, 2013)

Life can just obliterate imagination. That, for me, is writer's block: when the whole project of writing fiction is in the 'why do it?' basket, but I have to keep going because a) I've committed to a deadline or b) I'm too old to change careers or c) if I don't give the publishers a second book soon I'll disappear into the slush pile.

Not laziness, perfectionism or having no ideas -- more a sudden dramatic change in what's valued, because real life suddenly gets overwhelming.

I hope that makes sense -- I just have a feeling writers' block is a different thing for every writer and every situation.


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## EParadise (Feb 9, 2013)

I find that just forcing myself to write a little on my wip, and to journal almost every day, gets me motivated to keep going.


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