Thread: Inspiration is dropping, what can i do?

I can't help but feel my inspiration is dropping with my novel. I'm three chapters in now and have to admit my excitement level has dropped since i started.

i think its mainly down to my grammar and the way each chapter looks as i read it back to myself. Sometimes i feel i jump from scene to scene to quickly, so i'll jump in and edit it to lengthen it out a bit. This being my first novel, i'm starting to doubt whether i have the mind to actually finish it. My story's planned through to the end and i feel i have developed each character quite well.

Guess i just need a confidence booster.

What do you guys do when you're low on inspiration ?

You aren't at the point where you should be worrying about any of these things. That is for the editing phase. It's a very common problem for an author to find that their inner editor tries to jump in and fix things, getting in the way of writing the story.

Write it first, yes, it will be very imperfect. Don't worry, even if you tried to make it perfect you would still end up editing it later.

Just write your rough draft and don't stop till it's done.

If your interest is flagging because you don't know what happens next, figure out what the next goal is, some main event in the story that you have to reach and write till you get there. Repeat.

My inner-editor has jumped in again. I'm re-editing my 3rd chapter as we speak!

i keep telling myself that i should just write and write and write until the story is done and finished, then i can go about editing and adding bits everywhere. I know its the best way to do it but i always find myself re-editing.

Just go straight to the next paragraph and do this *Then this happened, this happened, that happened, etc* Once you've done that you can write the paragraph properly, and hopefully continue from there without writers block for a while.

Okay, try this:

Proceed to the Write or Die website.

Go to the right-hand sidebar where it says 'Write or Die online'

Set your word goal (500 words is good)

Set your time goal (15 minutes is good)

Set your consequences and grace period.

Hit the 'Write!' button.

Let me know how it goes.

I suggest that if you end up with 500 words or so you stand up, stretch, sit down, and do it for another 500 words. That's how I got through NaNoWriMo this year.

Originally Posted by Foxee

Okay, try this:

Proceed to the Write or Die website.

Go to the right-hand sidebar where it says 'Write or Die online'

Set your word goal (500 words is good)

Set your time goal (15 minutes is good)

Set your consequences and grace period.

Hit the 'Write!' button.

Let me know how it goes.

I suggest that if you end up with 500 words or so you stand up, stretch, sit down, and do it for another 500 words. That's how I got through NaNoWriMo this year.

That website is quite useful ! here's what i wrote in 10 mins, i was aiming for 500 words but its harder than you think to write of the top of your head without stopping.

Chung found herself in a room, a big room, a room that screamed authority. It was large, with balconys lining the walls either side, on the balconys were rows of seats. Old looking seat, all wooden. At the end of the hall, she noticed two lone chairs. These chairs were different to the rest in the room. They were a lot bigger and made of some kind of marble or stone. The chairs oozed authority, and Chung realised that they were chairs made for a King and Queen. She was in a throne room. Suddenly, the large doors behind her burst open and a lone figure strolled in. He was a tall looking person, aged and with a grey beard that somehow told Chung that this man was in charge. He paced straight past Chung as if she wasn't there and placed himself in the larger of the two chairs. He looked displeased and quite angry, as if he had just been the bearer of bad news. He fidgeted in his chair and stroked his long beard with worry. Chung almost felt sorry for this man, If only he could hear her speak. Then, another man walked through the doors. He was very tall and quite powerfully built. He was donned head to toe in some kind of metal plating and carried with him a large spear that was fixed to his back. A guard maybe? chung thought. The big man strolled over towards the bearded man who stared back at him with anticipation in his cold, grey eyes. The armed man proceeded to give the king some kind of paper, with which the king read quickly and anxiously. Chung watched as the king...

Its not perfect, seeing as i wrote all of that without stopping for more than two seconds. I see what you mean thought Foxee, i could now copy that into my word document and adapt it into the story. I will certainly use this when i'm low on inspiration Thanks a lot

Excellent! I'm glad it worked. I know it's been a lifesaver for me.

Edit: Remember, it's not about perfect. Not yet. It's about corralling those ideas onto paper (ok, or screen).

Originally Posted by Foxee

Excellent! I'm glad it worked. I know it's been a lifesaver for me.

Edit: Remember, it's not about perfect. Not yet. It's about corralling those ideas onto paper (ok, or screen).

cheers for that Foxee, your names going on my dedication list to be put at the start of my novel once its finished

*bows* Why ty.

I've found that when my inspiration starts dimming, especially if it's in the middle of a bigger piece, it helps to step back from it and try a new approach. Stop where you are and start a fresh document, maybe even with a fresh character and start writing something that will happen later in the book, or even a side-story that might not happen at all. Move on to a new section, a new "story," if you will.

If that doesn't work, try some exercises. You can find a few exercises online, but one of my favorites is to take a single image, painting or photo and write a short story about what is happening in that picture. My favorites are from calendars because there's never anything associated with them - it's just a picture, waiting for you to tell its story. And, of course, what you write does not have to directly relate to your book - it can be on a completely different topic.

I know everyone suggests that you just write write write, but sometimes, a little improvisation can help as well. Many times, I find something lying about somewhere that I wasn't going to look, that gives me the motivation and excitement I need to continue on with my main focus.

i hope this makes sense! Good luck!

There's this guy, Darren Aronofsky, who wrote and directed an indy film called Pi, which then got him enough attention that he was given a small budget for Requiem for a Dream, which then garnered him enough attention to fund the awesome art project, the Fountain. All three were written and directed by him. I had read his production diaries for Pi, and there were numerous places where he had written himself into a corner and had a glaring problem in the script, but his response to the problem was always "write through it."

His problem was not inspiration, but complexity that was slipping out of his control, but it has the same result: the work is slowing. I think your issue seems to be one of stamina. It is always exciting when the ideas are fresh, like going to another country and having delicious new foods, seeing strange new places. But, after a while it's not new anymore. You've seen these places, eaten those dishes. Now you have to get a job and pay to live in this place, and you have to pay bills. In terms of writing, you not being excited doesn't necessarily mean that you're not producing good work. If you produce good work, then you'll be way more excited at the end, with a novel in your hands, then you ever were when you had first set foot in this world you're creating. Keep living in that world, keeping working at it. Inspiration is good, but we can't just wait for the right weather to arrive. Write through it.