How to Write Spectacular Inspirational Works

Inspirational works are any works which build upon people's emotions and allow them the draw out thoughts which will motivate them to be better in some way. To truly understand an inspirational piece you need to understand exactly what is meant by the term "inspirational". The Encarta World Dictionary defines inspire in two relevant ways. The first being: to encourage somebody to greater effort, enthusiasm, or creativity. The second: to arouse a particular feeling in somebody. So, looking at these two definitions, an inspirational work should either encourage or arouse feelings in a reader.

Your work, regardless of it's format, must inspire. When a reader picks up your work, they should instantly have their emotions drawn out. One rule to writing an inspirational piece is that if a reader cries, your work was a success. Tears come with emotions, unless they are cutting onions or stubbed their toes at the time. If you can draw a readers feelings out so far that tears begin to flow, you have done what every inspirational writer has attempted to do.

In order to write something inspirational you must have your emotions on your sleeve. If you expect your readers to cry, you had better be crying on your keyboard while typing or leaving tear stains on your paper. Readers will take as much out of your work as you put in. If there is no emotion in your writing, they will draw no emotion out of it. That is a failure in the world of inspirational writing. When you read an inspirational work and it reads like a suspense or science fiction novel, you have failed to achieve the desired result. Most likely, this came about because of a lack of emotion on your part.

When you first start your work, whether it's a poem, a short-story, or even a novel, you must keep in mind what you want your readers to think while they are reading it. Inspiration is personal. Regardless of how person the subject is to you, it's your duty to make it personal for your readers. To start, take a piece of paper. Don't begin by typing, but write it out on paper. You can also write it in your journal. Your first draft should be the equivalent of a journal or diary entry. Express your feelings as if nobody else were reading it. Either that or express your feelings as if someone close to you is reading it. Whichever works best for you. This rough draft must be personal and 100% your own thoughts.

Your next step will be to take it and pull out the best parts of your writing, not changing the words as you find the important parts. Don't forget, your original wording has the most emotion in it. DO NOT CHANGE THE WORDS UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. You can make little changes here and there, but keep as much of the original as possible. Don't worry about anybody making fun of you for things that you said. Most likely, there are plenty more people thinking the same things. It always helps people when they know that others share similar thoughts.

Once you have taken the best parts out of the original piece, you are ready to start putting into the final form. Rearranging is acceptable, so long as you keep the meaning and the emotion of the work. Don't try to make it sound like a professional writer wrote it. When something is personal and filled with emotion, the words seem to blend together. People begin to think of their own lives and their own circumstances, instead of the way in which the work was written. The key is emotion.

The final step in creating an inspirational work is the comparison. Yes, you will need to edit the paper for spelling mistakes and such errors, but the real finalization is when you compare the final draft to the original. You should see as little difference between the two drafts as possible. Your original and the final draft should be close enough that you would think you read the other if you only read one. If not, you changed the work around too much. Once you have compared the two and edited the final copy, read it over one last time. Maybe even wait until the next day to read it. Take time to see what emotions come back when you read it. From that, you should be able to judge the quality of your work. The key to inspiration is emotion.

Good luck with your writing and remember to maintain a high level of emotion in your inspirational work. You want people to have a flow of emotions come from reading your work. That is what will lead to the inspiration in the hearts of the people you set out to inspire.