Keeping Inspiration

Hey Everyone! I hope you've been having a great week! So today I thought we'd talk about creating an inspirational source with writing and how to decide on what to write. Early on in my writing, around the time I had just entered high school, I had little to no interest in reading or writing. Throughout my childhood I told myself that I'd never have enough patience or perseverance to be a writer, but that all changed dramatically the summer after my freshman year. I had read my first full length novel(Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) and really wanted to be able to make my own story. So I started one with just three short myspace blogs. It slowly, but steadily became more complex and more my own creation. Almost four years have gone by and I am half way through my fourth draft of my book.

Now here's the question. How do we stay inspired and how in the world do we figure out what to write about?! Well those are quite simple to answer. I will admit that it was not easy to keep with my story at times. I got so frustrated with myself that just wanted to trash it and give up or maybe start a new project. That's when I found something in my own mind. I found that I have a strong fascination with nature, but more specifically, sunset beaches and lush, evergreen forests. I ended up creating my own personal world and every so often I add onto it. If ever I am in a tight spot with writers block or extreme procrastination, I go to my world in my mind. It's very calming and really does work. Just try it and you'll see what I mean.

Now to figure out what to write about. Honestly, just write about anything. My sophomore English teacher used to make us free write for ten whole minutes. Basically, just sit there write about anything floating around in our heads or our surroundings. It was a good practice and gets the creative juices flowing. One of the main things that needs to be done when deciding on a topic is to pick a genre. Horror? Fantasy? Romance? Mystery? Christian? Action? Just pick one and go with it. Next is to write poems, short stories, songs, journal logs, anything that will job your mind for a great idea. Suddenly, in the midst of going to bed, watching a movie, taking a shower(Which is a very common place where people think deeply about life.), or even just goofing off on facebook...A spark will occur. A spark is a mental image or video that catches your interest so harshly that you won't leave it alone until you know everything about it. That is when the questions begin. Questions are a very important step in the creative writing process and the more engaging the questions, more of a chance that that spark maybe your next great story. That's how mine started...A simple Spark.

Well that's all for today! Thanks so much for reading and I hope this helped you in some way! I always say that I am here for four reasons...To inspire and be inspired...To love and be loved.

~Corey~