Finding Inspiration Whether You Wanted To Or Not

Hi Friends!

It's been a very long time since I've blogged, but frankly, I didn't feel as if I've had anything entertaining to blog about. I have been very busy, however, writing my next novel, "To Find You", which is a historical romantic suspense set in the spring and summer of 1912. I hope to publish it by the end of the year, so hang in there! Meanwhile feel free to check out my other books at Amazon.com

Okay, my intention was not to shamelessly plug my books. I do actually have some writing words of wisdom to share. I have a cute and true story about finding writing inspiration, even when the last thing you think you're going to do is sit your butt down in your chair and write.

Yesterday I was feeling rather ill. Went to an appointment and came back with absolutely no energy, which was odd for me. But, I had the entire day to write if I chose! The husband was at work, my brother was not here, the boy was at school and no furthur pressing appointments loomed. But I could not get off the bed. Add to that, I've been feeling rather bored with my novel, and I only have about three chapters left to write. Now, don't get me wrong, I think it's a marvelous story! I'm just to the point where I'm sick of working on it. Mostly, I'm tired of researching everything and anything about the year 1912. Yep, it was a total blast when I started, but now, by Chapter 31, the bloom has left the rose. I was also tired of describing things...the way someone dressed, the way a living room looked, the kind of motorcar they drove, what a doorbell looked like, you get the idea. And writing description is the hardest part of writing for me. I just wasn't feeling the love for the writing (I still loved the novel) anymore. Plus, I felt as if my 1912 characters sounded more like contestants on "The Bachelor."

So. Feeling physically sick, mentally drained and inspirationly (<-not a real word)  blocked. I decided since I couldn't get off the bed and I couldn't fall asleep, I would watch a movie (something I never allow myself to do in the day). I had one movie here from Netflix..."Somewhere in Time". Now, someone recommended this to me as a fantastic romance. I had never seen it, and had no idea what it was about, other than it was a time-travel romance.  So, I popped it in the DVD player.

Imagine my surprise when the character played by the very young Chris Reeves, travels back to...yep, you guessed it (or maybe you knew it) ...June of 1912. It was like someone calling to me..."Too bad you don't want to write your novel, here's a little incentive!".  I quickly regained a bit of energy, ran to my office, grabbed pen and paper and started taking notes on dress, speech, mannerisms, room decor, etc.  By the time the movie finished (and I was sorely disappointed with it), I had regained my writing mojo and had the descriptive tools I needed to strengthen my writing and my novel!

So what does this all mean? I have no flippin' clue. LOL. I just know that I needed some downtime, and I need to finish the book. Sometimes you just have to take care of yourself first and have faith that the rest will fall in place.

So, dear writerly friends, write as much as you can, when you can. Please take care of yourselves too. Take time to stop and smell the roses...just don't ask me to describe them without seeing the movie first.