Five Ways to Jumpstart Your Writing

You are ready to write the masterpiece. The novelist would tell you to begin somewhere, usually the beginning. A short story writer would tell you to begin, usually closer to the end than the novelist. A freelance non-fiction writer would tell you to just keep plugging away. There are methods to the chaos which writing so often is. You're blocked. You need something big to happen. Start the clock, because in ten minutes this guide will explain how to jumpstart your writing.

Forget the Clock:

Say you're writing a novel, working 8-10 hours a day on a tough project. Novel writing is tough, as you can see the thousands of finished novels written every year never published, finding no home. In your time as a novelist, it's important to develop a means of looking at the clock. It shouldn't be-when you do look-"Darn I have to work another six hours"; instead it should be "Yes, three more hours to write." The mindset of any writer is that time is valuable, that every moment has to be constructive. Forget that, if only for a day, and just write.

Writing for Yourself:

You could be a freelance magazine writer, putting together articles on daily basis. Creative writing works here too: you can write first person essays-stories just for you, and only you. Maybe you will submit them, maybe you won't. What matters is again the mindset that, if you don't write everything that will sell, you're a failure. No, you're just a writer exploring creative writing. So write one or two items a day without looking to the clock or looking at the paycheck.

Looking Towards Money:

However, a mindset of money isn't a bad thing. For one, earning an income from any creative writing form is a joy. There you are ... published! Do think of the money, because it will allow you, more often than not, to write with a purpose. This can be a career, as it is for many freelance writers in the world.

Try a Different Field:

When you are writing nothing but horror novels, often you will be feeling sick of the whole genre. Or maybe you write op-ed pieces for newspapers, and just cannot think of any new ideas. Before you quit entirely, or even give up for a week of "Rest," consider going for a different writing field. This is the most generalized of all topics on jump starting your writing. It's also the most important. Creative writer turns into gold when you apply lessons from one field to another. It doesn't have to be a huge success, changing genres, but it often can be. It is, in the end, more about learning than looking toward the freelance writing money.

Split up Projects:

However, you cannot put your bread-and-butter projects down just because you're sick of them. Work is paramount in the creative writing field. What you can do is keep several fires in your mind going. When one project becomes stale, start a new, smaller project. I wouldn't recommend trying to novels at the same time, but a novel and a short story could work. A newspaper writer could try a magazine piece. The possibilities are endless, and it keeps your creative writing options open.