NaNoWriMo 2017 Writing Inspiration Tips – Word of the Day Challenge 12
Hey everyone it’s day 12, and it’s a Sunday so that means I have an ENTIRE DAY TO WRITE. Which is much needed as I am still behind hahahahahah *dies a little*. I’ve changed the title and removed the Word of the Day challenge as I feel the titles were getting a bit repetitive. What do you think? The challenge will still be at the bottom of the post so don’t worry!
Today I’m coming to you with a little bit of inspiration. Whether you planned or you pantsed your way here, you may feel like your writing well is a little dry. Believe it or not, some of these even involve going outside or talking to people! Bear with me!
Go for a walk
Now I hate when people tell me to go for a walk, it is a huge pet peeve of mine. But I have to hand it to walks, if you’re out in the countryside, or even a city, with your music on, you can get a lot of thinking done. The fresh air will clear your mind.
Treat yourself to a spa treatment
Again bear with me. This one is a little random, but it really worked for me. A couple of weeks ago my colleagues and I had complementary massages after work. It was an entire hour where there was relaxing background music and nothing else. No one talking to me, nothing beeping, no internet… and I got SO MUCH THINKING DONE. WHO KNEW THAT BRAINS COULD DO THAT WITHOUT DISTRACTION!
If you can’t afford the spa, then get someone else to give you a massage maybe? Or take a relaxing bath with nice candles and relaxing music and just think.
Talk through your pain points
Now this one definitely won’t be for everyone but honestly it can really help to talk through your novel with someone. I often find when I’m telling someone about it I realise things I hadn’t before and I fix issues just by saying them out loud. If that fails, who knows, they may even have some suggestions. These could a. fix your problem or b. trigger you to think of a different solution!
Read
Honestly sometimes you just need to step away and immerse yourself in someone else’s writing to get you back in the game.
Create in a different format
I don’t just mean try writing by hand, but that definitely is an idea, try drawing some aspects of your novel. Or creating a mood board on Pinterest, or even a mood board in real life from magazine cut outs. Something that gets you thinking outside of the box.
Moan about it on Twitter
Not sure this one helps but it’s definitely what I do so… take it or leave it xD
Word of the Day : November 12, 2017
shilly-shally
Definition
1 : to show hesitation or lack of decisiveness or resolution
2 : dawdle
Did You Know?
Shall I? Shall I? When you just don’t know what to do, it may feel as if asking that question twice will somehow help you decide. The 17th century saw the use of the phrase “stand shall I, shall I” to describe vacillation or indecision. By that century’s end, the phrase had been altered to “shill I, shall I,” most likely because people just liked the vowel alteration (that’s the same process that gave us dillydally and wishy-washy). Soon after, the adverbial shilly-shally made the jump from slang to literature and writers began applying it as an adjective, a noun, and a verb as well.
“As for buying Concord grapes at either a farm stand or a supermarket, the rule of thumb is, when you see them, claim them. Don’t shilly-shally, because the season for this most coveted of grapes is fleeting.” — Heidi Legenbauer Williams, The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, New York), 9 Sept. 2016
“He chaired a meeting this month that called on reluctant officials not to shilly-shally with economic and social reforms….” — The Economist, 18 Feb. 2017
I hope those tips helped, if you have any please let me know in the comments below. I’d also love it if you’d share on Twitter too 🙂
4 Comments
Great post!!
I love taking walks or reading when I’m having a tough time writing, it helps soo much💕
I’ve definitely talked through my pain points – did it just yesterday with a friend over Skype, actually! and moaning about it on Twitter. lol. did you mean ‘my life’?
Love the inspiration! I haven’t tried any of these options, but will definitely be thinking back to them if I need some time away from my project.
[…] Some great blog posts that I’ve been reading for motivation are written by Jenn over at A Page of Jenniely (I’ve linked to my favorite post). Please check her daily NaNo inspiration posts out as they are […]