Getting Back On Track

So it seems a lot of people (like me) took a break from writing for the holidays, and then while getting back into work/school/home life, and then… had a hard time picking back up where you left off.

That’s what time off does to you—while it may be well deserved, relaxing, and even necessary—you feel it when you get back into it. It’s like training for a marathon and taking a week—or a month, or a month and a week—off: It hurts.

So how do work through it? How do you get all those ideas to just come floating back to you? How do you revive the story?

Motivate yourself. It’s as simple as that. Of course, you have to find time to write, but if you’re really motivated, that will come. Here’s a few ways I’ve found helpful to amp up the motivation and pull myself back on course. Feel free to add any you want:

• Listen to Music- And I mean really listen to it. Not while doing work. Not while driving. Sit and listen with your eyes closed, or with a pen and paper, and listen to the music and visualize a story to go along with it. If you’re trying to get back into a specific story, it may be a good idea to keep a scene or character from it in mind.
• Read- Sometimes the best motivation is reading a great book and thinking “Man, I wish I could do that.” or even a not-so-great book that leaves you thinking, “I could do so much better.”
• Make an outline/or plot chart- This one is self-explanatory, but the logic behind it is to get you thinking about a story again. If you’ve already written one before the break, don’t look at it and re-write it from memory. Then compare the two. Resolving any differences could make for a good spring-board back into the story.
• Ask yourself- Why you started writing the story in the first place. What motivated you to write this particular story? What is it about? Why is it important? Keep coming up with questions, and have fun with your answers. This is your time to enjoy being a writer, so try to shrug off any pressure and just… write.

Hope this helps :)