Have you ever had your head filled with so many thoughts that you couldn’t move forward with just one? Did you lay awake at night unable to make your brain stop moving at warp speed?

When that happens to me, I write each one down on a pad of paper on my night table. When I awake, I expand on them the next morning and place them in a “future writings” file.

Some authors have the opposite problem. I just finished reading two consecutive fiction books about authors suffering from writer’s block. The ideas just wouldn’t come. They couldn’t get motivated to sit down in front of the computer and tackle the business of writing. (This would be a good time to open that “future writings” file, wouldn’t it?)

I have been away from writing for almost a month, working with my husband on a complete home remodel. Even though we are not nearly done, I feel the need to carve out some time to begin writing again. So, the last couple of days, I have been spending a couple of hours reading my work in progress. Refreshing my memory as to what happened in chapters 1-15, will serve to energize me to dive in again and finish my book. 

If those ideas don’t work for you, may I suggest just one more?

A couple of writer-friends from my critique group published books this past year. I am so proud of their accomplishments and reading their work serves to motivate me to keep going.

So if you are having a hard time beginning to write, or trouble finishing something you are currently working on, maybe reading some of your own past work or a book written by someone you know will reignite your writing.

If they can do it, you can do it, too!