Inspiration.....

There’s something a blank page, a blank book that fills me with excitment. I love buying blank journals and looking at a fresh word file on the computer that hits all my buttons. Its the unknown promise, the anticipation of what might be written on those pages and the potential it could contain.

Now of course I haven’t really written anything notable (or much that’s been published besides high school newspaper articles, some pieces in a local newspaper when i did a 3 day internship at a local newspaper), but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t continue to write - or that you shouldn’t either.

I have a lot of friends who write various styles, genres or even mediums! (newspapers, online blogs, magazines, novels.. the list goes on) so I find myself comparing my work to theirs - when to be honest I shouldn’t. Everyone’s style is different - so is their writing strength. If you feel you might like to try fanfiction (i have!) then by all means do it, and should you want feedback the best people to ask are other fanfiction writers of your genre, and of course people you trust not to burst out laughing at the thought of you writing.

The biggest piece of advice that you should heed from this piece - write, write, write. It might be utter dribble that you’re too embarassed to show to even your most trusted friend, or it might be something that is meaningful only to you. Its that old cliche - practice makes perfect. Its also a great way to figure out your writing style, and pick subject matter that interests you. The more you write, the easier It will be to narrow down your writing voice as you can experiment - not everything you write has to be made public. I have plenty of “practice” pieces that sit in a dark place on my computer, and should hopefully never see the light of day. Why keep them? well, its so I can see how my writing has developed and grown over the years, and because once you destroy something you’ve put all that effort it - its not so easy to get back.

One of the issues I find myself struggling with when it comes to writing is inspiration. I find I can be inspired by things, but that inspiration doesn’t always last long enough to finish a story, or even to get through the planning stages. The thing to remember about it, is get your ideas down the minute they pop into your brain or they could be lost. At least that way, you can revisit them at a later date when you have time, motivation and the right frame of mind. I have a notebook next to my bed with a pencil so even If a random idea hits me at 3am, - i’m prepared!

Now, inspiration can come in many many forms. Be it music, an image, a conversation with a friend about hamsters and martini’s - you can find it in the strangest of places you just have to be open to it. I find when i’m writing I tend to prefer music playing in my headphones rather than listening to tv, or other people chatting. You can use it help set you in the “mood” for your piece ie: writing about something celtic? put on some celtic music. Writing about romance - play the music that gets you in the romantic frame of mind. This even works if you’re writing a dreaded scene where something horrible is about to happen - then grab a glass of wine (if you’re of age to drink), a big box of tissues and let it out - just be careful about getting too many tears on your keyboard.

Really, when it comes down to it, the only limitations on your writing is you! If you’re willing to put the time and effort in, you can truly go far. In this age of blogs, collabaration websites such as about.com, freelance writing jobs on the other side of the world AND self publishing, its easier than ever to kickstart your writing career. So what are you waiting for?