Hi All, I was quite active here in 2014 until I became unwell and lost my motivation to write. After 4 years of inactivity, I'm trying to get back on my writing bicycle but wondered if any of you had any tips on how to re-capture that missing mojo? All ideas and suggestions appreciated. :-) Mark
Great suggestions, David. I'm not sure why but I sometimes baulk at my own name so I might create a new character name and work on different situations with the character. I'm finding the only real time I get at the moment (full time worker like yourself) is an hour in the mornings in a coffee shop while waiting for work to start. I will see what I can come up with and post something shortly for critique.
Have a great Thursday everyone! :-)
Hello Mark,
Glad to hear your on the mend. This is an important question and perhaps there are more people than you think who temporarily stumble when writing.
Of all the things that impact my writing, the main is my job. I work full time and at the moment given the season, it's dark when I leave home and dark when I get back. Sometimes writing takes a backseat to everyday occurrences.
What I started doing was taking a notepad everywhere I go, just something small that fits in a pocket. You never know where inspiration can come from and all you need is a tiny spark from something you've seen or read while out and about on your routine. Several years ago I visited Yorkshire for a camping holiday. The dales, the forests, the ruins, the rivers etc. Thanks to the notepad full of scribbles, I was inspired to write a fantasy story which now stands at about 57K words across 11 chapters.
Another thing I have actually done in the past is to create my own characters with a background and scenes for different movies I watch or games I play. This allows me to research how well my idea works and whether to develop it in to something entirely new. Imagine an episode of your favourite TV show but instead of the main protagonists you love watching, there was a new one. Your own character complete with name, description, age and background taking control and taking action.
Try it, How does it sound Agent Baybrook working alongside Gibbs in NCIS, or battling the supernatural with the Winchesters as a Hunter. Perhaps your name is counselor Baybrook trying to win a high profile case alongside Shatner and Spader in the law show Boston Legal...
You'll get it back, good luck.
Great ideas everyone. I will apply some of these over the next couple of weeks and report back!
Thanks
Mark