3 Ways to Reignite Your Writing Spark

One thing I want you to get comfortable with as a writer is going through seasons.

You’re going to have times where you’re feeling on top of the world, the words just flow and you feel like the complete creative genius that you are.

Other times, it feels like nothing is good enough. You wonder whether there’s much point in your writing. You stop and start on different ideas, and wonder whether you’ll actually ever get a great idea again. What if you were one of those one hit wonders? Oh geez, what will others say?

The earlier part of this year had me feeling the latter.

After finishing my first manuscript and flying through the second, I’ve found it was the elusive third that forced me into that lull season.

Here are the 3 things I did to get my writing mojo back and comfortably shift through the season (well, as comfortably as possible):

1. Honour the season that you’re in

→ It’s strange- as soon as I honoured the season I was in and admitted that I was in that lull season, within a matter of days, I got out of it. Think of it like that scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone where Harry, Ron and Hermoine got caught up in the Devil’s Snare. As soon as they relaxed, they were able to slide through (albeit with some minor discomfort).

We get stuck in energies because we focus our energy on that energy that we’re stuck in. This means our mind doesn’t have the capacity to be able to look for solutions to get out of said stuck energy.

Once we say: ‘alright, this is where I’m at’, you’ll feel the energy shift.

It doesn’t feel as heavy. You feel like the burden has been shifted away from you.

And then lo and behold, the answers you’ve been looking for actually show up.

2. Try something new.

→I love routine, but repetition can completely dull your creative spark. When you hit that season where you feel like nothing’s happening, make it happen for yourself. Try something new. Read something different. Watch a different movie. Listen to music you don’t usually listen to. Stuckness is often a cue to move in a different direction.

3. Write in a different form.

→ If you’re used to writing in a certain way (i.e novels, blogs, short stories), try writing something new about something new. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do something completely opposite to what you’re used to, it can mean just writing about a different aspect of what you usually write.

For example, whilst I was writing One White Flower, I also wrote short stories set in Zagreb and Vukovar. Whilst it was still a part of the Homeland War, the stories were different because they were different fronts in the fighting. Šibenik, Vukovar and Zagreb all had unique experiences and each had its own story to tell. I found this helped me reconsider some things in One White Flower, and also gave me inspiration to write.

4. Remember why you started

→ Okay, here me out here. When you remember why you started writing, it reignites that spark within you to keep creating. I have no idea what it is. Maybe it’s the mind associating it with some higher version of that just gets you going: HEY-HO, LESSGOOOOO (did you really think I wouldn’t include Eurovision?).

If your why is not something you’ve considered in the past, take a moment to think about it. Why do you write what you write? And like a curious child, keep asking why until you have no more answers to give.

What’s your favourite way to reignite your writing spark?