bSmart Tips to Beat the Summer Writing Slump

It's not always easy to find the motivation to write during the summer, especially after two semesters of reading book after book and writing essay after essay.  During vacation, your work in progress might be at the bottom of your list, and that's okay because there's nothing wrong with taking a break.  But if you're itching to write again and don't know how to start, the good news is it's not impossible to get out of a slump.  Here are some tips that will help you fall in love with your craft once more.

Shop Shaped Tray Desk Organizer here!

Dabble in other mediums.

Have you always wanted to try your hand at painting, screenwriting, or making music?  Sometimes all you need to do is shake up your writing life.  Think about choosing a new hobby or focusing on another one of your passions.  Switching it up can not only help you hone your skills but also lead to inspiration that bleeds into other walks of life and gets you excited about your writing project all over again.   

Change it up.

You may love writing fantasy, but for some reason, you're having trouble continuing your work in progress.  Challenge yourself and pick a genre you’re not familiar with.  Writing in a new genre can spark new ideas and help you become more versatile.  Also, if you typically write on the computer, switch to pen and paper.  If you write in your room, move to a different area of your house or go outside.  Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery for the words to flow.

Find inspiration with cool writing apps and websites.

One of my favorite websites for writing is Charahub, a place to keep a record of all your novel characters.  You can upload the character’s picture, biographical information, background, and answer dozens of questions about them, which is especially useful for developing new characters.  Sometimes it’s hard to move on with a project if you don’t know your characters very well.  After an hour on Charahub spent developing my characters into real people, I feel like I know them much better than I did before.  I also like to use Pinterest to drop pictures of my characters, setting, and technology.  It's fun to imagine your novel being made into a movie, and looking up real pictures can inspire you and aid you in describing certain people or objects.  Pinterest also has inspiration for writers, including prompts, tips, and exercises that are great to save for later.  Lastly, I have been using Evernote to outline my current work in progress.  You can download outline templates to keep a handle on the events of your story and easily see what you have left to write.  Sometimes it can be daunting to start a new project, but there are many types of outlines (flexible and rigid) that allow you to keep track of your story.  Even if you aren’t actually writing, outlining is a great start, and best of all, you can revisit your outline if you forget a certain aspect of the plot.

Learn from others.

Reading from a variety of genres can encourage you to pick up the pen again.  Also, watching interviews with your favorite authors and learning about their process can end up inspiring you.  In that vein, there are many writing resources online.  Resources that have helped me, in particular, are these thesaurus collections.  This website provides excerpts from writing thesauruses that you can buy on Amazon or Barnes & Noble if you like what you see online.  Even if you don’t end up buying a guide, the excerpts posted on this website alone have helped me improve my characters as well as my descriptions of people and settings.  And not only that—they have given me the tools I need to depict people’s emotions effectively and realistically.  Enriching your characters, descriptions, and setting is just as important as the plot itself, and editing and refining is the perfect way to jump into the writing game after a break.  

Put yourself out there.

It may be scary, but sometimes getting feedback is just the inspiration you need.  Share your work with friends, family members, or professors, online, or with a local writing group.  When I was younger, I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a challenge to write a novel in the month of November.  Once you sign up online, you can chart the progress of your novel, share your works in progress, and connect with other writers to receive and provide feedback.  Even if you don’t think you can write a whole novel in a month, NaNoWriMo is a wonderful website where you can make friends with people who share your love of writing.

Read your old work.

Reading my old work isn't my favorite way to pass my time, mostly because it's embarrassing and difficult to read without cringing.  However, your old work is also a record of how far you’ve come, and it can even spark new ideas.  Perhaps you have an idea that you left behind a couple years ago.  Even though it might not have been your best writing, the idea itself may be worth pursuing and revitalizing.

Don’t always wait for inspiration to strike.

Sometimes I think it’s better to wait for the ideas to come to me.  Unfortunately, this tactic typically leaves me frustrated, and causes me to believe I'm suffering from the dreaded affliction known as ‘writer’s block.’  This condition isn’t real—it’s simply an excuse I use to avoid writing my novel.  Though it’s perfectly fine to wait for ideas to develop in their own time, waiting for inspiration shouldn’t be the reason you’re ducking your writing responsibilities.  You may not feel inspired at the moment, but start writing anyway, especially if it’s been a while.  Even if you feel uninspired, remember your thoughts matter and you can find your love for writing again.  Getting out of a slump won’t always be as easy as waking up with a fully formed book idea, but sometimes putting pen to paper and writing the first word is all that it takes to reignite your passion.

 

Julia Kell is an English major at Radford University who intends to work in book publishing after graduation.  Since childhood, she has enjoyed writing and is the author of multiple novels.  She also loves Broadway musicals, animals, and the outdoors.