Inspration

     Sometimes you need a pick me up. Some days that comes from something as simple as coffee. Other days you need a bit more of a push to get things done. Still others nothing seems to be able to draw out the words from your soul.

     That's okay. It happens, even to the best of us. Nothing is always simple, if it was, everyone could do it.

      Sometimes pulling yourself out of a funk can be hard. A few things I do to keep things moving, I'll share with you today.

*Read a book. Really, go pick up your favorite and start reading. Find what about that book makes it good to you. Learn from that.

*Start Free Writing. Free writing is a good thing to do to just keep your brain moving and your writing going forward. Just type whatever is in your mind. It can be as simple as I don't know what to write so I'm just going to tell you about my dog.... It doesn't have to be productive, it just needs to be done.

*Go back and Edit. Take a few steps back and go back and work on editing if you are stuck. At one point you had the story in your head, going back can sometimes job your memory.

*Write a different part. That simple, stuck on one part, write another! You can always go back and write between them.

Find what works best for you and work with it! Sometimes even writing prompts can get your words flowing.

Happy Writing!
~Skadia

Finding Time to Write

     Some people want to write, other's just do it. There is no true excuse for why you don't write. I am guilty of this sometimes myself but then when I really look at myself, I realize I'm a lie.

     Now you might be saying "Hey now, I work and have kids, I don't have time to write!"

     Yes you do. Don't lie to me. You can only lie to yourself. Do things like that make it harder, yes, but not impossible. Okay so you have kids, writing at home is hard, I'm guessing they have a bed time. Tell them a story, lights out. Gather your thoughts for a bit and then get at least 20 minutes of writing in. I'm also guessing that they like to sleep in as long as they can. Get up just 20-30 minutes earlier, and right there you have almost an hour of writing (on average I can type almost 1,500+ words in that time easy).

     Now you say you work, I'll bet to support that family you work full time, normally that's an 8 hour day or more. Those normally come with a 30 minute lunch. Eat while you write and get another 300+ words done.

     So now, at the end of that busy week you can have a total of at least 3,000 words just by writing on that lunch break alone. If you ride a train or bus, you can even take that time to start mapping out your story with notes so that when you do have time to type,  you can just crank it out.

     Even if you only write one word a day, you are getting closer to finishing that book that you want to write. So no excuses, just take that first step and start writing!

~Skadia, the word pushing panther

Bribe the Writer - Get more stories

     So my wife recently realized the most magic thing in the world. I work for treats. Treats can be anything from a dinner out, or as silly as a new pack of Magic the Gathering cards. (Yes I know I'm a nerd.) While recently I have started a new project and am writing some fanfiction to get myself warmed up for my normal writing, she made me a deal, whenever I finish a project I get a treat. 

     Yesterday I finished my first chapter of fanfiction. She told me go get a pack of cards as inspiration for the next one. So instead, I went to the dollar store and to my surprise they had little resale packs of them. I may or may not have gotten a few. The cards weren't the best but they did their job.

     This bribing thing is working so well that I'm even finishing up Lesson Learned - Lesson 3 within the next few days. This works for me, it might not work for everyone. Some people work to prove others wrong, that does nothing but get me down. I love praise and little silly things like this. It gets me motivated.

     What gets you motivated and moving on any project? Treats are good but not good enough to get me to do housework yet. haha

~Skadia Trazon