Alphabetical Inspiration for Writers

In the spirit of the new school year, I thought I would do something a little different. Everyone, writers and authors alike, need a little inspiration from time to time and I thought I would provide you with it alphabetically!!

so here goes…

Advice

Have you ever sat at a computer and researched a topic, written all the words; or tried to discover the perfect system for your situation until your eyeballs want to fall out of your head? I’m sure we all have, but you don’t want to bring others into your problems? Perhaps you’re like me and hate asking for help, or you feel you could do it better yourself or you believe whatever you’re going after is going to cost money and that is just something you don’t want to do.

Well, what better way to get clear on something than to ask? Yes, I mean it. Sometimes it’s just better to let all your fears go and ask for some advice. I did that a little while ago and I found a very kind, very constructive response. I am so glad I asked.

Believe

It’s not always easy to believe in yourself or your abilities, but sometimes that’s all it takes to get you from step one to step finished. Don’t let your inner demons keep yours from achieving what you set out to do.

Trust me, I’ve been letting them stew within me for far too long. It’s time to kick them out and move on.

Concentrate

This is something I think some of us lack from time to time, me more often than not lately. Us writers lose focus more and suffer from shiny object syndrome so often, we consider it a state of mind.

Find ways to keep your focus and concentration on your tasks, whether it’s using timers with breaks, using a planner, a checklist, dream board or something else that keeps your mind on the task at hand.

Dream

You may feel that you have one dream, one thing you are striving toward in your writing, but don’t be fooled by the end result. Each step within the process is a mini goal and if you wish to continue with your writing after you complete your current project, then you have more dreams. You have many dreams and conquering your fears to keep those dreams alive is all that’s important.

Continue to dream. Find more, add more, be more!

Energy

Something else I’ve found I’m lacking in lately, but as authors and writers, we tend to spend quite a bit of time sitting at a desk, table, in the car, wherever we’ve decided our desk would be at that particular moment.

Find ways to keep your energy up and flowing so you don’t fall into the slump I fell into a few months ago. One I’m still trying to fully climb out of.

Go for a walk, exercise, swim, find a hobby that keeps you active and raises your energy. You’ll be glad you did. (At least you will when you’ve been doing it a while, those first few weeks always suck. Trudge through and then you’ll be happy!)

Forge On

Every aspect of your life is a piece, a part of you. If one of those pieces is out of wack, the rest of you will soon follow suit. Keep moving forward, forge on, move, jump, climb, but never stop. Don’t ever stop chasing your dreams, your goals, your achievements. Only you can stop you from achieving your goals. Get out of your way and take that next step.

Gather

Become a forager of information, systems, processes, snacks. Yes, I said snacks. I don’t know about you, but I always get the munchies when I’m writing so stock up on those healthy snacks to get you through those long hours of word sprints and trips to your inner inspiration toolbox.

Use whatever you find helpful to keep your gathered information organized, whether that’s on the cloud, in a notebook, in a document, etc. You need good storage for all that awesome information, right? Why not set that up first.

Health

Like energy, it’s important for you to stay healthy. I realized after I came home to be with my children that I actually have no one to make me move, to get up and walk or exercise, to eat healthily, or to perform other healthy habits.

You have to do all that yourself just as you must do all the things for your business and writing without the guidance of another to keep you on track at all hours.

Use an app, alarms, routines, or whatever fits you to keep you healthy. The last thing you want to do is lose your health while questing for your dreams.

Imagine

Everyone has an imagination. It may be suppressed, but it’s always been there and it will always be there. Dive deep into your mind to find where your imagination is hiding. Then dig deep to give you new ideas for your writing.

I love being at home with my children, I would not be able to see their creations in any other way. They are so different in personality, but love using their imaginations to play every day.

You have that ability within you. Find it and use it as inspiration.

Join

As humans and writers, we need companionship, others with a like mind to throw ideas off of, to get suggestions and thoughts from. This group will help you along the way to support you, give you inspiration, and advising you from time to time.

You don’t always have to listen to every person in the group, but you never know when inspiration will hit. Who doesn’t need a great support system to back them when things go haywire. So, search for a group you will feel comfortable with, join FB groups, discussion groups or whatever you feel you could find a few good people to be your support. Don’t forget to show the same for them as they journey along.

Knowledge

Learning doesn’t stop with school. There are always new things to learn, new things to discover. Keep your mind open to the new and you’ll find you have an arsenal of knowledge at your fingertips to use at any moment.

Knowledge is your greatest weapon in any situation, gather what you can and use it wisely.

Love

Love is expressed in many ways, but affection for your writing is what is going to keep you moving forward. If you don’t love what you do, you’re not in the right place.

If you love what you do, things will fall into place and you’ll continue to defeat your personal demons and those that try to get in your way of success. Don’t let the words of the negative infiltrate your mind. Let them go and continue to love what you do.

Motivation

We look for motivation like we search for our hidden snack that just happened to get up and walk away somewhere. We use it to continue with our work, to get things done, and to provide a reason for our actions.

Motivation is the bread to our sandwich, holding it all in until we are finished. It’s the nourishment that keeps us going as we journey. Use a vision board, motivational videos, or find something else that will keep you motivated and use it often to give you inspiration.

Names

Now, why would I put this in here? Well, because of you! Your name is special. It’s what was given to you at birth. It’s how you are identified as well as your characters.

Names are so important to writers as we use them, create them, steal them all the time for our own personal use. Keep a list of the ones you like to use later. Have you ever had a name inspire an entire story? Or struggle to get just the right name for your character, book, post, or whatever? Names are a way of communicating, connecting with others as you meet or as your readers meet your or your characters. So keep them handy and use them to your benefit.

Opportunity

Take it whenever you can get it. Have a chance to travel for your writing, go for it! Given the opportunity to go to a book signing, a conference, a _con? Well, what are you waiting for, get going?

Your experiences are what fuel your imagination and they provide the perfect way to add to your arsenal of tools. Take those opportunities when they appear, because you never know when the next one will come by.

Pursue

Strive for, reach for, climb for your destination. Keep pursuing your dreams and your goals. Nothing will stop you, but you. So get going and get it done.

Quest

Your writing, even if you are writing a hero’s journey, is a journey in itself. Your writing consists of the different steps you take, the inspiration you get, the different places you visit (whether physical or emotional), and different aspects to explore. This may give you a different way to look at your process, and how you complete each step. Find your steps and overcome each obstacle!

Remember

Memories are the keys to the soul. The good, the bad, the pretty, and the ugly. Each of those experiences can help create a character, a setting, dialogue, and more.

Go out and create more memories and you’ll never run out of inspiration for ideas.

Sensations

You are told all the time to use the senses when writing. Keep a notebook and write down how you’re feeling and emotions. Even the actions you take when you feel a specific way can help when you need to get in touch with the reality of your story. Make your story real and your readers will be begging for more.

Try

Nothing ever gets done if you don’t try.

Understand

This could go in many directions. Understanding of the knowledge, understanding of situations, understanding people and their actions. Many of us get negative reviews, negative responses to our request for suggestions, but we as writers need to understand that everyone has their own situations they are going through and even though they may not mean it. It comes out on us.

Others are just looking to bring others down because of some reason or another. Don’t let those get you down. Take the good with the bad and understand that you can’t please everyone. There are always going to be those that hate what you’re writing. Let them, it just wasn’t right for them. Take it with a grain of salt and move on. There are so many others just waiting to devour your next book, so don’t disappoint them.

Valiant

Bravery. You have to be brave to even consider a writing career, good for you for making it past the first step. Keep that in mind as you continue your journey.

Wonder

As with imagination, wonder is its cousin. You need to experience wonder in order for the action of finding knowledge to take place. So wonder, ask questions, research, discover… everything!

Xenium

Here is a fun one. For the lack of another word for X, this one means ~ a present given among the ancient Greeks and Romans to a guest or stranger. Well, why not? What’s the best gift you could give a stranger, I mean author or writer? Reviews of course! Nothing give them more inspiration than hearing from their fans. So go out and give those reviews!

Yearn

Everyone yearns for something in their writing, connection, inspiration, fun-loving alternative from reality. What do you yearn for from your writing? for your life? What’s that thing you are trying to get to that perhaps you’ve lost focus on. Bring it back to the front and remember what you started writing for in the first place.

Zen

Peace, quiet, relaxation. What every person needs every once in a while, so take the time to take a break and experience your zen when needed. No one wants to be rushing all the time.

Final Thoughts

As one of my goals is to bring inspiration to my readers, I hope this has done just that, in a fun way of course! Remember to stay healthy, keep moving forward and take those breaks when needed. Don’t allow the demons to distract you from your dreams. Forge On!