How to get inspiration and motivation

I have realised that when reading blogs, I appreciate reading things about how other writers 'live their writing lives'. It's especially satisfying if I find that people do things similarly to what I do. It may sound mean, but I love hearing that others face the same problems that I do, if only to realise that I'm not as hopeless a writer that I often think I am. In fact - many writers seem to think that about themselves too. We all have moments of self-doubt. 

"I'm a crappy writer." 

"I will never get anything published." 

"No one would want to read anything I've written."

"This story stinks."

These are all thoughts that bring us writers down, and I know myself how hard these thoughts can be to defeat. 

I still haven't. 

Being a writer is a lifelong struggle for acceptance, but what we must understand is that being unique is not a bad thing - it's just the opposite. Being unique can be hard, but it's also the easiest thing to achieve once you realise that being yourself is all you need. Sure, we all want to write as good as our most praised authors; the ones we admire so much that we read their stories over and over. But trying to sound like them is just a waste of time. The hardest part is to accept this and to walk your own path; sometimes this takes years.

I may have my moments of self-doubt, but I think I have begun to realise that whatever I do, it brings me forward. Be it achievements or mistakes, it will make me a better writer using nothing but my own power.

But I'm getting off topic.

I was going to write about inspiration and motivation. I don't know if I succeeded to do that with my random little speech, so I'll try a different approach - I'll tell you what I do to get inspired to write.

It's widely known amongst writers that sitting around and just waiting for the motivation to come isn't the best idea - in fact, it may be that it never arrives. If you truly love writing, you should grab the opportunity as soon as you have some free time to do so. Actually, you should even make that free time come to you. What with work and school, many people feel like they don't ever have the time to sit down to get anything down on paper (or the computer, as I prefer to do it). It's easier said than done, but make that time happen, or you will never improve.

I seldom get the motivation to write just with a snap of my fingers. Truth be told, I sit and stare at the computer screen, or the wall, or the blank TV screen, and I try to win a mental battle with myself: 

"You should write!" 

"But I'm not in the mood!" 

"Go and write, you idiot!" 

"But I should really do the dishes..."

And eventually....... I do the dishes, okay, you got me.

The point is, don't let that internal voice get to you! He's evil, I tell you! Evil!

Something I've noticed actually gives me the urge to write is simply this: read - or watch - something that you admire, something you wish you had come up with first, something you want your work to become. For me, that are things like Harry Potter, or Twilight, or Disney movies, or The Lord of the Rings, or Narnia... Make yourself truly believe that you are just as capable of creating something like that, and that someday, others will read or watch your work and get inspired by it!

I don't know about you, but this is something that really inspires me, and it motivates me to write.

Once you have that inspiration, don't read anything you have written beforehand! For me, that is a total inspiration-killer! And don't show anything you've written to anyone else, because that's just as murderous!

Just write! Write to your heart's content! It doesn't matter how good the grammar is, or how many holes you have in your plot, or even what you write - just keep going! The first draft isn't going to be perfect - it never is! That's what you have the power to change in the second draft! It's all in your hands! Nothing is crafted in stone, or written on those ancient typewriters, where you can't delete or change it! Make mistakes! Make them time and time again, because every time you do them, you'll learn something and improve!

When you then look back at it in a few months, or years, you may believe it is crap, or you may think it is genius. No one can tell. The point is that you tried, and it was a small step on the way to becoming something much, much greater!