Hopefully you haven’t gotten to that point in your NaNoWriMo experience where the excitement of doing a first draft in 30 days has weaned and the everyday responsibilities of life have once again consumed you. But if you have reached that point (although that doesn’t usually happen until after you’ve passed the middle of the month) and you are starting to get blocked or starting to procrastinate, perhaps you just need a little motivation to get you going again.
If you’re a music lover (and you can actually write to music—I usually would just end up singing instead of writing) then maybe you could start thinking of music to inspire you to write. Perhaps you should give your book a soundtrack as if it were going to become a movie (who knows, maybe it will be) and think of the songs that would fit your book and its characters. The music that might be playing in the background of a dramatic scene could push your story forward even further.
If you are more of a television person maybe watching a little T.V. can get those creative juices flowing again. If you are writing a drama, perhaps watch a drama show, or if you’re writing something a little more comedic, then watch comedy. Perhaps watching the style that you are currently writing in can give you ideas for scenes, or dialogue, or an interesting plot twist you can throw into your book.
You might even think about watching an inspiring movie that could give you more ideas for your book. Perhaps watching a movie that resembles what you want your book to look like on film (not a carbon copy of course but a generalized idea) can give you more of an inspiration to finish what you started this month. Movies are usually what gets my creative juices going again and gives me an overwhelming amount of new ideas (too many new ideas—usually before I’ve finished working on the old ones) and has me rushing back to my computer (or to my notebook).
If none of those things inspires you to keep writing then do something that does inspire you or do something that can help take the pressure off of you to finish the novel. There’s nothing wrong with going out for a couple of hours, having some fun with friends or family, and releasing that tension or anxiety you are feeling about getting your novel done. That may be just what you need to get back into the swing of things. No matter what you find to inspire you to keep writing, just keep writing!
Jimmetta Carpenter
Writer/Editor
The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)
Writing as “Jaycee Durant”
http://unpleasantlyplump.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310
Write 2 Be 