You write because you love to. But sometimes it seems like a duty, something to slog through rather than enjoy. How do you recapture the joy of writing you once had? I brainstormed this quick list of thirty-one ways that might work for me. What’s on your list?

  1. Walk, move around, or dance while writing
  2. Read writing out loud
  3. Use characters I love, or a sneaky character
  4. Collect words I think are great
  5. Collect words I hate
  6. Use a new format (not a novel, for instance)
  7. Try to write in a different language, real or fake
  8. Write about a topic I love talking about
  9. Write as if it’s a letter to a friend or relative
  10. Write in a different place
  11. Research a topic that is absolutely riveting
  12. Go to a place and people watch and write about what I see
  13. Scout places for settings
  14. Find a way to make it feel like channeling (meditate?)
  15. Make ridiculous lists
  16. Get goals for characters from news or research
  17. Use music to write or in writing
  18. Pattern something after a writer I like
  19. Let it be poetic and word/emotion driven. Don’t craft it as I write
  20. Come up with the stupidest ideas, plot, characters imaginable
  21. Write really, really badly
  22. Parody something
  23. Write the craziest, most fanciful world and characters ever
  24. Go through the dictionary or thesaurus until I find the best random words as a jumping off point (don’t take the first words I come to)
  25. Riff on a famous quote
  26. Use tabloid or other headlines as a prompt
  27. Combine unrelated ideas for a title or plot
  28. Combine unrelated ideas for a type of book
  29. Speed write 100 plots, character goals, or conflicts
  30. Write flash fiction
  31. Do a mashup

One thought

  1. Your post is incredibly nice dear. Thanks for providing this post.These tips/suggestions will make writing work like fun and enjoyable. Thanks again. Keep it up dear.

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