Your Writing Life – How To Keep Creative Ideas Flowing And Fresh

Sometimes I lose steam in the middle of a book. But after I have finished the fifth chapter I have a burst of energy because I know the end is in sight. Don’t get me wrong. I love writing and have been at it for more than 30 years. Over the years I have learned how to keep my writing fresh and setting new goals is one way.
Donald L. Hughes writes about “The Hidden Power of Goal-Setting for authors” in a Christian Writing Today website article. Goal-setting is the key to success, according to Hughes, and brings order and purpose to your work. Instead of waiting for the must, he thinks writers must be more deliberate. “Writing is an enterprise that requires thought, planning, and focus,” observes Hughes.
At this stage of my writing career I have come to realize that I need to get more involved in book marketing. This is a challenge with limited funds, yet it is not impossible. The Author Promotion website offers some suggestions in “Marketing Tips for Authors.” A good product — your novel, biography, history, text, or self-help book — is at the top of the list. Quality is your aim in the writing game.
“Promoting should be a continual process,” the article notes, a process that involves Internet websites, your website, social networks, blogs, and promoting a book before it is published. I wrote a media release for my last book and emailed it to my publisher. The publisher approved the release and I sent it to selected contacts.
If you have never written a media release, this marketing tips article tells you how, and says you need an angle. Finding just the right angle, or hook, as advertisers call it, takes time.
Evaluating your writing habits also keeps work fresh. It also keeps you working. The Author’s Harbor website cites the key elements that keep an author productive. Though you may be a creative genius this website says you can still be “a mess” when it comes to writing habits and goals. So your writing goals should be specific, attainable, and measurable.
I have evaluated my writing habits (something that takes real honesty), and am pleased with them. No matter what is going on in my life, I try to write every day. At 5:30 a.m. I tackle new writing. In the afternoon I work on revisions and industry contacts. This schedule keeps me chugging along and may do the same for you.
You may start to feel stale after you have been writing in the same genre for years. Thankfully, you do not have to leave your genre to revitalize your work. My current genre is grief, a challenge in a good economy, a double challenge in a poor one. How am I keeping my writing fresh? I am learning from professional organizations, using article marketing, using social marketing, trying new kinds of writing and, when necessary, taking a short break.
When you nurture your creative spirit and yourself, your writing just gets better and better.