At first, the promise of Autumn and Winter can provide nothing but inspiration of crisp red leaves floating around the romantic, cold air. But as January is foregoing and February is on the horizon, we reach ‘the dead of Winter’, where all inspiration is often lost. February is known for being a tough month for writers; it’s a strange ‘inbetween’ month where the year isn’t going fast enough, but the days aren’t long enough to be productive. So here at CovWords, we have devised a plan for any budding writers who are suffering from the dreaded block.
1: Keep a Dream Journal
You would be surprised the amount of creativity that sparks up our dreams. Authors around the world have previously spoken about their bestselling novels and claimed it came to them in a dream- a vision, that sparked the light. Of course, this isn’t ideal if you won’t remember the dreams you had. To keep them safe, keep a Dream Journal. These are inexpensive, can be whatever pattern you desire and will just keep some ideas floating around, so if you feel stuck, there’s always a way to become motivated again.
2. Go on a Walk
Remember the guy from ‘The Princess Diaries’ films who sits on a pull out chair in the middle of the street? He’s writing a novel, and his way around the plot was to observe everything around him. You can do this too, by going on a walk. Walking is great for mental health, physical health and our imaginations. The amount of storylines that are ongoing around us, naked to the ignorant eye is shocking- there is always a drama on the streets, so go and get some material whilst getting some exercise.
3. Meditate
With meditation, you can control the visuals you see. You are ultimately controlling the destiny of your imagination, your mind can expand wonders while your body calms down. Countless times, I have meditated and thought of a setting- and then that ‘dream’ setting has turned into an imaginary place, with imaginary characters with their own thoughts, fears and hopes. It’s truly amazing how the simplest of things can fill you with so much inspiration,
4. Watch Films
This takes pressure of yourself, but it also gets your mind involved in something which is a story. We think of stories as different to films, but in reality, one is just raw material, whereas a film has a production team behind it to make it a motion picture. By watching something you are interested in, you are activating your brain to get involved in a narrative. It sparks the same feeling you get when you begin writing a story and you’re trying to loop all the plots together.
5. Read. More. Books
I can’t tell you the number of times a fellow writer has told me they are struggling with writing, and when I have asked what the last book they read was, they have told me they haven’t read anything for ages. It is essential to your writing to keep reading. It encourages the flow of words and a better use of the English language. I would highly encourage anyone to invest in more books to improve their writing!