Seeds of Inspiration: Don’t Wait for Your Muse

We’re getting ready for Camp NaNoWriMo this April! Every writer carries seeds of inspiration; today, Ingrid Ancona, a NaNoWriMo participant, shares her tips for chasing down inspiration:

Jack London once said, “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” The same ambition can be applied to writing a novel. Maybe it’s your dream to be a writer, but you just can’t seem to find the inspiration to get started. Well, it’s time to rev up that V8 engine and get it done. But what if your muse is elusive? 

Inspiration, like spring flowers is blooming all around you, sometimes found in the most unexpected places. You can draw inspiration from some of your favorite authors. If you are writing a romance novel, say, and you’re not sure which direction to take the character next, take a break and pick up a treasured book and read a few passages. Pay attention to how the characters interact with one another, what challenges they have to face, what obstacles are in the way or how they overcame them. 

Another way to draw inspiration is from people who surround you every day; you can light a spark by having conversations with friends, your family, or even your children if you have them. My novel that I wrote during NaNoWriMo last November had twin ten-year-old evil stepsisters. I wanted their dialogue to be child-like but everything I wrote sounded like two young adults talking. I began listening to my own eight-year-old daughter speak to her friends and tweaked her conversations to fit the spoiled children in the story. 

I also find that writing every single day is also useful. Just like with any other muscle in the body, exercising the brain is very important and keeping the brain cells pumped can lead to some wonderful ideas. Whether you find some quiet time in the morning before anyone else wakes up, or in bed right before you go to sleep, (which is my personal favorite time to do my writing), write something every day, even if you think it sounds like nonsense. Just do it. You can always revise your thoughts later. 

Lastly, don’t overwhelm yourself. Take a break and grab another cup of coffee, take a walk, listen to some music or watch a movie. You may be surprised at where your inspiration will come from. Sometimes it might be from the most unexpected places.

Ingrid Ancona was a featured writer in the Hearts on Sleeves Romance Anthology on Wattpad for Valentine’s Day. She loves to write romance novels, romantic short stories, modern fairy tales and fanfiction. She is the single mother of an eight-year-old who at times thinks she’s a cat. Besides writing, she loves to read anything she can get her hands on, watching horror movies, and baking.

Top photo by Flickr user fra.