Keeping the motivation:

Keeping the motivation:

If you have never read the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel, I highly suggest reading them. Classic stories that describe real things in life that we all might face such as being self conscious about how we look in a bathing suit or wishing you had enough will power to stop eating sweets. One of my favorites is the story called Tomorrow. Toad does not want to get out of bed because he knows his house is a mess and he needs to clean it but he does not want to. He wants to take life easy. So he refuses to pick up his clothes or wash his dishes or sweep and dust but then he sits on his bed and says “Blah, I feel down in the dumps. I’m thinking about tomorrow and all of the many things that I will have to do.” 

Sometimes when you are a writer you may have a day like this.
A day when you think, I know I should go through my media sites and post things or make some calls to local schools to schedule book signings or speeches. Or even tougher, I know I really should be writing, working on the next chapter of my story. But when you sit down and look at an empty page you may feel like my friend Toad, “Tomorrow! I will do it all tomorrow!” Toad shouts. What Toad realizes and what I have come to realize about life is that if you do a little bit here and there today, you will have less things on your to do list staring you in the face tomorrow. Thinking of life this way can help make you feel less overwhelmed, even by the dreaded “blank page”.

That is not to say that it will be easy or fulfilling to write or manage your other tasks for your career. But if you sit down and try to think of what may happen next in your book, you re-read the previous chapter to know where you left off or perhaps you look at some notes to remind yourself of where your story is going. (Whatever your process may be, every author’s is different.) If you do all of this and you still can think of nothing for your story try putting that book aside for the time being. Instead, write a few paragraphs that you could use for an article or a talk or blog. Or jot down other story ideas that you may have in your head, even if you do not think you will ever use them. I find that writing whatever comes into your mind is a bit like dusting a dirty house, it helps to clear away the cobwebs that have been gathering and makes you feel a little bit happier and lighter. Then, with your head clear and your body relaxed, you will probably notice that the next time you open your book and begin to write, the story flows onto the page all on its own.

If all else fails, if you try to jot down some story ideas, or write an article or blog and still nothing comes out, then you could always try reading. I find that reading other people’s work, even short children’s stories helps to stimulate your own writing ability. You will pick up and store things that you liked about that authors writing style and discard what does not fit you. When you do this, it helps you to create your own style and voice. A writer’s voice is uniquely theirs but we all gain inspiration from one another too and that is okay. So yes, as an author writing on a consistent basis is important, but so is reading and so is doing whatever it takes to clear out the cobwebs in your mind to keep it clear.  So do me and yourself a favor dear readers and don’t be like my pal Toad and simply say, “I will do it tomorrow.” Instead, start with some small tasks and remember if you do a little bit today, it will be less that you will have to do tomorrow. And the good thing about that is that then, when tomorrow comes, you will be able to “Just take life easy.” Until next time remember…writing=happiness. ;)