It’s interesting. The more I learn about my writing process, the more I discover there is to learn about it. Such as when it comes to creativity and inspiration. Sometimes I have a thousand and one ideas, and at others I couldn’t come up with a convincing story to save my life. When I’m in editing mode for instance, I struggle to come up with new book ideas. I can brainstorm fixes for existing plot holes or work on backstories, but ask me to think of an idea for new book and I wouldn’t have a clue. However, when I’m in brainstorming mode, I can easily come up with three rough plot premises at once. My biggest problem then is trying to figure out which idea has the most potential, which can be combined, and which need more time. It’s a weird cycle of extreme inspiration, and then an extreme dry spell. If I edit for too long, it starts to feel almost like I’ve forgotten how to be creative.
Maybe that’s why I enjoy drafting so much. There’s so much scope for creativity. I get to play around with new ideas and mess around with all kinds of inspiration without worrying about perfection. Even in the first editing passes when I’m restructuring my messy, formless first draft into a plot that works, I feel so much more creative. I love playing around with stories in their earliest stages because the ideas just come, half-formed, irrelevant and beautiful. There’s a cycle to my creativity when writing books, one that I’m finally figuring out and putting to good use.
But when it comes to blogging I still struggle with this. Some weeks I have loads of ideas, and then at other times even the ideas I have written down for later use don’t seem convincing. It’s not because there’s nothing I’m passionate about writing on, or because there is any shortage of things that I could talk about. The ideas just won’t line themselves up. It can be super frustrating sometimes, especially when my blogging schedule requires three posts a week. I am so in awe of bloggers who have their posts scheduled weeks in advance, and who never seem to run out of unique and interesting ideas to blog about. I know that it’s never as effortless as they make it seem, but they are amazing to me. They have a process and a knack for blogging that I’m still working towards.
In a way though, i feel like that’s half the fun. Each new challenge gives me something new to learn and conquer. I know how to manage my creativity when writing. I know how my cycle of inspiration works there. Now I have to learn how to handle it when blogging. There’s always something new to learn, and I really quite enjoy that. You’re never quite there. Master one thing, and there’s something else new and interesting to work towards. I feel like if you write, you’ll never run out of adventures to have, or challenges to work towards, and that is so exciting to me. There is always more to learn.
What challenge are you working towards conquering at the moment? Do you have any advice for managing ideas and inspiration for blogging? I’d certainly like to hear all the tips and tricks. Let’s chat in the comments!
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