From Blocked to Brilliant: Tips for Keeping the Creative Spark Alive

It's no secret that the key to a successful writing career is creativity, but the creative process itself? Yikes.

Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, there are times when the ideas seem to dry up or you get caught in a rut, writing the same thing over and over or only when you feel "inspired." 

So what happens when your creativity starts to dwindle? 

Here are five tips to help you keep the creative spark alive and burning bright. 

1. Read, read, and read some more. 

Make time every day to read something, whether it’s a blog post, a book, or articles on your favorite website. The more you read, the more ideas you’ll have to fuel your own writing. (For me, this also applies to watching movies.)

2. Switch up your normal routine. 

If you always write at the same time of day, in the same place, try shaking things up a bit. Write in the morning instead of at night, or vice versa, or try a new location.

3. Take some time for yourself. 

When you're feeling blocked creatively, it can be helpful to take some time for yourself, even if it's just 10-15 minutes. Step away from your work and do something that relaxes you. This can help clear your mind and give you a fresh perspective.

4. Talk to other writers. 

When you're struggling with your writing, talking to other writers can be incredibly helpful. Many have been there before and can talk you through it.

5. Do your best to write every day. 

Even if it's just a few hundred words, getting into the habit of writing regularly will help keep those creative juices flowing.

It's not always easy to keep the creative spark alive, but the ideas are out there, and if you can keep the faith (and your eyes and mind open to the possibilities), who knows? 

The next idea that hits could be the one that catapults you to bestsellerdom. 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~ 

When You're Burning Out

Writer burnout is a very real thing, and I feel fairly confident in saying that it affects every writer at one point or another. 

"Burnout" is the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that leads to a decrease in productivity. Writer burnout happens when a writer finds themselves not feeling any sort of passion for their work. 

Photo by Sebastian Sørensen

Now, I love a good slow-burn romance, but a slow burnout? Not so much. A slow burnout looks a lot like sitting down and not getting any work done, or struggling to get words onto the page, or avoiding sitting down to work at all, and it will seriously affect our productivity if it's not addressed. 

Early signs of writer burnout include a lack of motivation to get to work or a lack of excitement about our current project. It looks a lot like a lack of energy that can leave us feeling depressed or irritable. We may even dread going to the page because we know the writing isn't going "well."  

But if we can learn to recognize burnout at the onset, we may be able to rest and recharge before it gets too severe. 

(We need your stories, so please don't throw in the towel just yet.)

The best way to figure out how to recharge your writing batteries is to take a step back from your work. Try to focus on something else for a few minutes, a few hours, or even a few days. It can be as simple as doing the dishes or straightening up your desk. You can try meditating or taking long walks outside. Personally, I use movies to recharge. (Hello, Netflix!)

If you feel like you're in a rut and still want to write (especially if you're on a deadline), try going somewhere that's not your usual writing environment. Instead of writing in bed, head to a local coffee shop. Instead of writing in the morning, write at night. 

If you're not on a deadline, change up your format or genre. Instead of writing romance, try a mystery. If you were working on a novel, turn your attention to a short story or a poem. If you write on a laptop, pull out a pen. 

It's a truth that bears repeating: writing is not always fun. There are good writing days and not-so-good writing days. 

On those not-so-good days, focus on the long game, the end game, and try to remember your "why." 

Think about the readers you want to connect with. Think about the characters you want them to relate to or the storyline that you'll use to pull them away from reality for a few hours. Think about all the ways you'd like to inspire them and the message you want to impart.

Most importantly, keep in mind that for everything there is a season.

There is a season for writing, and there is a season for resting, and taking periods to rest is just as beneficial to your writing practice as "sitting down to write every day."

In fact, it's one of the best ways to...

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Why You Need An Inspiration Board

If you've followed me for a while, you know how I feel about Scrivener as a writing tool. 

(If you haven't and don't know how I feel about it: I love it. There is no comparison. It's like it was made for my ADHD brain. If you're in the market for a new word processing program and ask my advice, I will proselytize--Scrivener--and thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.)

So one of the things I love most about Scrivener is that I can keep everything related to a project I'm working on in a single file. I have my chapter sections organized in Draft, sure, but Research is where I have the most fun. 

This is where I keep my brainstorming pages, links to any web pages I might need, my project Bible, and my...

INSPIRATION PAGE.

What's an inspiration page, you ask?

An inspiration page (also inspiration "board" or "folder" or "box," depending on the method of collection) is exactly what it sounds like: a page where I keep the items that inspire me most as they relate to the particular project on which I'm working.

What's on my inspiration page?

-Pictures of my main characters.

-Pictures of their houses or the key places they go (if they're described in the book). 

-Pictures of important articles of clothing--like a prom dress--or a hairstyle or piece of jewelry that plays a prominent role.

-Seasonal images (spring, Christmas, etc.) for world-building purposes.

-Links to songs that I associate with certain scenes.

I do have playlists for most of my books, but the inspiration page tells me exactly where the song fits into the book because I often put the song on a loop when I'm working on that particular scene. For instance, the Library Gala in The Guardian when Seth appears and dances with Genesis is linked to "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin.

 

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Here, we have an inspiration "wall." ;)

The inspiration pages vary from project to project, but what they help with most is grounding me in my story and the world in which it takes place. I keep pictures of my characters so I don't have to remember if I've written them with blue eyes or green. If I can't remember if the guy's hair is brown or black, it's easy to click over to my inspiration page to look at the image I've based him on. 

As an example: Luke Castellani (Revelation) was my young Gerard Butler. ;)

Thank you, Inspiration Page! 

Every now and again I'll toss in a YouTube link to a movie scene or trailer that elicits some kind of emotional response--anything that triggers the mood I need to capture for a certain scene.

The Bridgerton trailers are great at triggering, FYI, but I also love the scene from My Best Friend's Wedding when Jules confesses she's in love with Michael, and when Miles shows up for Arthur's big night, plops down beside Iris, and tells her she looks beautiful in The Holiday.  

I can't always trust myself to remember the color of my character's hair or the dress she wore or the song to which the love interest confesses his adoration, but if I upload an image or paste a link on my Inspiration Page in my project file, the information is always at my fingertips.

But Katie, you've just described Pinterest! Novel boards! Links! Images!

My dear Reader, do you even know what would happen to my ADHD-addled brain if I left my story to access a Pinterest board?

Nothing.

As in NOTHING would get accomplished for the rest of the day.

(My Pinterest board, however, would look lovely.)

Ergo, the Inspiration Page is built in Scrivener, and it stays in Scrivener.

Why an Inspiration Page? 

Because I believe if we sit down and get to work expecting the Muse will show up, she will. I also believe we can hurry her along--get her moving a little faster--if we can tap into the mood of our story, and that becomes possible once we've collected audio and visual material representative of what we're trying to create.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

On Writing for Writing's Sake

"Writing is not about publication, 

though publication can be a splendid event. 

Writing is about writing."

"People should be able to write and feel proud 

without ever being published. 

Writing is a human right . . . 

and humans should be able to do it 

without being judged as failures 

for not making the professional cut."

-Mark Edmundson-

Why Write?

On Being "Not Good Enough"

It's in our nature to assume someone (or anyone, or everyone) else is more creative than we will ever be.

But don't let your feelings of being "not good enough" stop you from doing what you want (or were meant) to do.

Practice your creativity. Show up. Do the work.

It's risky putting yourself out there, but it's worth it.

Jump, then strengthen your wings on the way down.

Above all, keep your eyes on your own paper. Your creative journey will look vastly different from the person next to you, just as his journey will look different from hers, just as hers will look different from. . . .

You get the idea. 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Which Came First?

The chicken or the egg?

Or . . . . which came first?

The character

The title

The climax

The first sentence

The last sentence

A funny line

A tragedy

A name

An interest

A desire

A need

There is no wrong place to begin brainstorming a story. 

For Cross My Heart, the idea came from a song ("November Rain"), and Jaden (as a perfectionist) arrived first. For Rise, Fallon's name came first, and that she was a musician (a rock star violinist) second. For All I Never Wanted, the idea about a girl in a rehab facility came from a movie I'd recently watched, and for my latest WIP (work in progress), the villain arrived before anyone else.

The point?

Ideas can show up anywhere and at any time, and while they rarely show up fully formed, there is no right or wrong "first."

There is no order in creativity.

The act of creating is messy.

Anything that pops into your head can be built upon, so take that little nugget from the universe (a gift, really) and make that story happen.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

The Creative Process

English social psychologist Graham Wallas, in his 1926 book Art of Thought, argues there are four stages to the creative process. 

Preparation 

This is an investigation stage. This is the stage where we’re gathering ideas. We’re reading, watching movies, thinking about the project, and taking notes. I liken it to the gardener who preps her soil for the growing season. It’s all of the groundwork that happens before a seed can be planted.

Incubation

The second stage may look like procrastination on the outside, but might not be. Incubation occurs when we’ve gathered the information we need and now our brains are stepping in to process and make connections. This is the stage where the seeds are planted and the gardener is watering and making sure there’s enough sunlight, but, on the surface, at least, it doesn’t look like anything is happening.

Illumination

After we’ve gathered the necessary information and our brains have finished processing it, we’ll have a flash of insight, where suddenly we know exactly what needs to happen or how to solve the problem. At this point, the seed is a plant, and it’s just pushed through the soil. The fruits of the preparation and incubation processes are visible.

Verification

The verification stage is where we bring our ideas to fruition. This takes a conscious, deliberate effort. It’s where we re-work the scene. Compose the poem. Write the article. The plant is now growing into something amazing.

What stage are you in?

They're all crucial to the process, but without verification, what was the point?

Action Required.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Just Start

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

I'll say it ad nauseam.

Don't wait until you're inspired to write. 

You're more likely to find inspiration once you sit down at the computer or open that notebook and put the pen to the page or fingers to the keyboard than you are maneuvering blindly about, waiting for that perfect "lightning" sentence or word or idea.

Don't wait for "the mood."

There is no mood. The mood doesn't exist.

(But if there is a "mood," again, you certainly won't find it until you sit down and begin to work.)

Put your current mood to work.

Don't know what to write? 

Start with a prompt. Start with a character. Start with a setting. Start with a list of words that you love. Start with "I don't know what to write." Fill the page if you must.

Just start.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Ideas vs. Situations

"I want to write a book, but I don't have a good idea."

or the flipside: 

"I have a great idea. It needs to be a book."

An idea, however, does not "a story" make.

An idea is a little spark that might set a story in motion, but it's not enough. 

What you're really looking for is a situation. 

Boy meets girl. 

This is an idea.

A German boy falls in love with a Jewish girl in the moments before Hitler's Army comes to town.

This is a situation. 

A situation demands the question: "what happens next?"

The idea is where the story starts, but the situation drives the narrative.

When inspiration strikes, make sure it's a situation (or figure out how to turn it into one). 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

But What Do I Write About?

Write about something you know--some small aspect of your life--a personal experience or a world you're familiar with. Something that requires no research. Forget the facts; tell the story.

Don't worry about being perfect; just make it as good as you can.

Writing a book is hard. 

That doesn't mean you're not capable of doing it or shouldn't give it a shot. 

It just means that it's hard.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Ideas vs. Action

It's so much easier to think about what we want to write than it is to actually write it.
It's so much easier to fantasize about the creation than it is to create it.
It's so much easier to talk about all the great things we could do than it is to actually do them. 
It's so much easier to ignore that pull than it is to step up and admit we might actually have something important to share with the world.

Do you see the pattern here?

Everything we have in this world was once an idea that was acted upon.

The idea alone isn't enough. 

The action--the follow-up--is what matters.

Because the book in your hands is worth way more than the book in your head.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~