When The Spark is Gone: 4 Ways to Bring Back the Joy of Writing
By Anna Elliott | September 1, 2016 |
Stéphane Magnenat via Wikipedia Commons
If you’re a writer— professional, part-time, aspiring, or something in between— then chances are you got into the job because, not surprisingly, you love to write. My husband and I were just this week talking about doing the job that you’d do even if you were never payed for it— and definitely writing is that for me. I write seven days a week, year-round, simply because even on the hard days I couldn’t love it more.
But we all have experienced those hard days: times when we feel like we’ve lost the spark of delight in what we’re working on. It might be a scene, a chapter, or an entire book that suddenly feels flat or empty or just lifeless on the page. So here are my top four strategies for bringing back the joy and getting back on track when it feels like your spark is gone.
1. Don’t despair. Things may actually not be as bad as you think they are. Just this week, my writing partner and I were remarking that it’s practically impossible to write a book without at some point being convinced that it’s utter crud. But those are dark, desperate moments. Don’t trust them! Put the work aside for an hour or a day— take a walk, watch a movie, do something to relax— and then approach your story with new eyes. In my experience the chances are extremely good that you’ll find the book isn’t nearly as much a mess as you thought. In need of edits, sure, but anything can be editing and fixed. Just remember: you can’t edit a blank page.
2. Find your why. But what if your story really is a mess— a mess that you not only don’t know how to fix, you don’t especially even want to? It happens. If that’s the case, I’d say to start small. write one sentence. But not just any sentence. Write the absolute truest, purest sentence about your story that you can. It might be an inner truth about one of your characters. It might be about the journey that they’re on. Write down the one most important, the one truest thing about the book you’re writing. That’s your why. That’s the reason this is a story you need to tell.
3. When in doubt, interview. For me, the most common reason I’ve lost the spark of my story is that I’ve somehow come unconnected from my characters and they’ve stopped talking to me. When that happens, taking some time to dig deep and reconnect with them can get you unstuck. Pretend that you’re interviewing them: what do they most hope for? What do they most fear? If I’m stuck on a scene, I sometimes shut my eyes and try to list off everything that my point of view character is feeling, starting with the basic five senses and working my way up from there. What do they see, hear, touch, taste, and smell in this particular moment? Often just the simple exercise of imagining myself physically inhabiting their skin is enough to help me reconnect to their emotional and mental reality in that moment, too.
4. Take a break. I save this strategy for last, because for me at least, it’s something that I only use as a last resort, something to try when all other strategies for recapturing the joy have failed. But there have been a couple of times in my writing life when trying to move forward on my WIP feels like pushing against a solid stone wall. And in those instances, what’s worked for me is to simple set the work aside and take a break from it. For me, that doesn’t mean taking a complete break from writing. Each time I’ve temporarily set a problem story aside, I’ve jumped almost straight into writing something different and new. And while generally, I think too much story-hopping can be counterproductive if you leap frog from unfinished book to unfinished book, in a couple of cases, it was exactly what I needed to rediscover the joy of writing. Switching to a different project re-energized my love of storytelling– which in both instances meant that I suddenly had the spark and the energy to go back to the abandoned book and finish it without any of the angst from before.
What about you? Have you ever felt like your spark had fizzled on a particular story? How did you get it back again?
Anna Elliott is an author of historical fiction and fantasy. Her first series, the Twilight of Avalon trilogy, is a retelling of the Trystan and Isolde legend. She wrote her second series, the Pride and Prejudice Chronicles, chiefly to satisfy her own curiosity about what might have happened to Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and all the other wonderful cast of characters after the official end of Jane Austen’s classic work. She enjoys stories about strong women, and loves exploring the multitude of ways women can find their unique strengths. Anna lives in the Washington DC area with her husband and three children.
I’m not sure why it took me ten years to figure this out, but I find that digging deeper into my protagonist’s past helps revitalize my story. When I got hung up on Scorpion Summer, a middle grade historical, I took a closer look at my protagonist, which led me to taking a closer look at his mother, who was just a minor character up until that point. Suddenly her past became so rich that I could have written a novel about her life instead. When I returned to my story, my “minor” character added more depth to the story and a more compelling reason for the mess they found themselves in. Whenever I get stuck now, I take a closer look at both my protagonist and the other characters. After all, they’re stuck in this story, the least I can do is make them interesting.
Ron, I love it when even minor characters become more flesh and blood. Digging deeper is the way for me too.
Anna, I love the why, why, why. That almost always brings me back to the page, no matter how much resistance I’m facing (I have all sorts of deep-seated fears).
The why is truly what draws you back. Projects I thought I’d have to abandon because they just weren’t working I’ve kept at– and finished– just because of that WHY. If it’s strong enough, there’s no stopping you.
That is so true, Ron, about making all our characters interesting! It really does lend a whole new energy to the work, the more we know and are fascinated by them.
I’m in #4 right now. It’s not the story, but writing itself that has dried up while other turmoil washes over me. But then I just read the afterword to A Great Reckoning. If Louise Penny can write through her husband’s decline into dementia, then what the hell am I complaining about!
I often use #3 to get back into a groove if I’ve bounced out.
Thanks!
Louise Penny’s story is so terribly sad and humbling. I do think every writer is different– I (so far, anyway) hold onto writing like a lifeline when life gets crazy or hard; having that outlet is what gets me through. Others find they just can’t write through the storm. I don’t think there’s a better/worse there, just how your own mind and soul happen to be wired.
It’s usually the why that keeps me going–whatever it was that first made me think this story needs to be told. Reading helps as well: fiction, memoir, lit crit, reviews. So often I will stumble across a phrase or concept that absolutely nails something I’ve been struggling to clarify in my own mind.
I love your exercise of physically inhabiting your POV character, starting with the five senses. While I often play out a scene in my mind before writing it and try to pin down the emotional changes, I’m excited about adding this level of empathy and sensory detail.
Reading definitely helps me, too, Barbara! Let me know how the sensory exercise works for you– I hope it’s a help!
It’s not typically the story itself that kills the joy of writing, but all the stresses of life otherwise that kill my writing. But speaking for difficulties with a particular story, I find that switching to another project for a bit helps (though I have to guard against project hopping and never finishing any of them.
But I like what Ron said above. I’m again revising a ms I’ve had in the kettle for several years, and the key to working through it is digging deeper into the characters’ pasts.
Also, if I’m writing books in a series, it helps if I get stuck to brainstorm one of the other books in the series–that helps get the juices going again.
Some projects need to be abandoned, and it can take guts to recognize that abandonment is better than prolonged fruitless agonizing.
Anna, I’m dealing with this exact issue now. I’m well into my WIP. I got my MS back from my editor and it needs a plot reboot. I’m really struggling to stay with it and your tips are helpful. Thanks.
So glad if it was at all helpful! Best of luck with the plot reboot! So much hard work but always worth it in the end.
For me, doing something physical and boring, like thirty minutes swimming laps or on a treadmill, seems to jumpstart my imagination. If these activities aren’t available, then a long, hot shower also works pretty well. (Ironing used to be good for this, too, but I don’t have that much to iron anymore.)
These past three writing years I’ve discovered that the one thing not to do is stay at my desk and stare at the screen. Sometimes, just taking my laptop out to the deck (weather permitting) can be enough to get me going again.
Very good tips! I definitely agree that boring exercise can be helpful.
What great ideas!
I find that personal life complications are the thing that have the most negative effective on my joy of writing. Family complications usually that simply bring me down, rob me of energy and enthusiasm. If I could get myself to write, that would probably be an antidote, but too often I can’t locate the motivation to make that positive leap. I know many other authors who have the same experience. Your tips can help, especially the one that suggests interviewing our characters. Perhaps interacting with “people” who, for the moment at least, feel more like they’re in our corner is a good and healthy way to go. I intend to try it. Thanks. Alice
Yep, reading my new novel’s draft aloud now from hard copy after setting it aside for a bit—who wrote this stuff? It felt so promising—and indeed there are strands yet that sing—but now the glow is low. Might be time for a longer break than usual…
I love the, “When you’re stuck, interview.” excellent! Taking even a small break away from the computer helps. Exercise. Clean. Bake. I’m also not a fan of switching projects. Too many loose ends! Free writes help with pen and paper help too.