How To Get Back Into Your Wip
Jul. 8th, 2020 07:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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moonlit-sunflower-writes:
Hi! I have 2 main wips (and about 20 side ones, but let’s not go into that) and trying to find time to write both of them is difficult. And if I write one, I usually get incredibly involved in it and find it difficult to go back to writing the other.
Or I just don’t write anything for three months and then can’t find the motivation to write again. But either way.
These are just some tips that I found worked for me!
1. Reread old work
I know that I personally do not really enjoy rereading my old work, but sometimes when going through it I begin to remember why I enjoyed writing it in the first place. Just today I was reorganising the files on my laptop and I found the drafts of one of my old wips which I actually really enjoyed writing. It made me want to continue the story! You created those characters and that world in that situation because you wanted to. And chances are, some part of you still wants to continue that story.
2. Moodboards
I’m not even kidding. Making character moodboards or setting moodboards is one of the most relaxing and satisfying things to do in spare time, and it allows you to understand or re-understand your characters. I find that especially when writing in first person, having a character moodboard helps me to understand their aesthetic and my brain basically revolves around aesthetics. It also lets you feel like you’re being productive without actually having to write.
3. Pinterest Boards
Not great at photo editing? You can do the same thing as moodboards, except make a pinterest board! What I like about this is that it allows you to have a board for your entire wip, and have subsections for each character, or for a chapter, or even subsections for different plotlines! This is also a fun way to get back involved with your wip that I really enjoy.
4. Incorrect Quotes
When working with ocs, incorrect quotes are some of my favourite ways to interact with my characters because it allows me to draw connections from them to some of my favourite characters in modern media.
5. Remind yourself why you started
What I do each time I start a new project is that I make a doc with all of my ideas, the prompts I want to use, character sketches, aesthetic boards that I make - just to get my thoughts down before I start my project. And I usually keep adding to it as I write. But when I’m stuck or unmotivated, looking back at this page reminds me why I started the project in the first place and is one of my favourite ways to motivate myself to continue with it.
6. Listen to your wip playlist
I know that a lot of my writer friends create playlists for their wip or for their characters. Whenever you are stuck, listening to that playlist should get you in the mood to write again by reminding you of your wip!
7. Force yourself to write
This is kind of a last resort, but often when I really can’t find inspiration, I just force myself to sit at my keyboard and write. Set a goal that is easily achievable; tell yourself to write 20 words. Then once you’ve written 20, increase it to 50. Then 100. You may not get further than 100, and that’s okay! But when you write a little bit, it often helps you to find inspiration. And once you’ve written a little bit, writing more gets easier - even if you don’t write a scene in chronological order! Maybe just find a dialogue prompt and choose two of your characters and write a short scene inspired by that. It may help you to get back in touch with your characters and motivate you to continue writing your story.
These are just some tips that work for me, they may not work for you - but try them out if you want! And feel free to add more :) ily
moonlit-sunflower-writes:
Hi! I have 2 main wips (and about 20 side ones, but let’s not go into that) and trying to find time to write both of them is difficult. And if I write one, I usually get incredibly involved in it and find it difficult to go back to writing the other.
Or I just don’t write anything for three months and then can’t find the motivation to write again. But either way.
These are just some tips that I found worked for me!
1. Reread old work
I know that I personally do not really enjoy rereading my old work, but sometimes when going through it I begin to remember why I enjoyed writing it in the first place. Just today I was reorganising the files on my laptop and I found the drafts of one of my old wips which I actually really enjoyed writing. It made me want to continue the story! You created those characters and that world in that situation because you wanted to. And chances are, some part of you still wants to continue that story.
2. Moodboards
I’m not even kidding. Making character moodboards or setting moodboards is one of the most relaxing and satisfying things to do in spare time, and it allows you to understand or re-understand your characters. I find that especially when writing in first person, having a character moodboard helps me to understand their aesthetic and my brain basically revolves around aesthetics. It also lets you feel like you’re being productive without actually having to write.
3. Pinterest Boards
Not great at photo editing? You can do the same thing as moodboards, except make a pinterest board! What I like about this is that it allows you to have a board for your entire wip, and have subsections for each character, or for a chapter, or even subsections for different plotlines! This is also a fun way to get back involved with your wip that I really enjoy.
4. Incorrect Quotes
When working with ocs, incorrect quotes are some of my favourite ways to interact with my characters because it allows me to draw connections from them to some of my favourite characters in modern media.
5. Remind yourself why you started
What I do each time I start a new project is that I make a doc with all of my ideas, the prompts I want to use, character sketches, aesthetic boards that I make - just to get my thoughts down before I start my project. And I usually keep adding to it as I write. But when I’m stuck or unmotivated, looking back at this page reminds me why I started the project in the first place and is one of my favourite ways to motivate myself to continue with it.
6. Listen to your wip playlist
I know that a lot of my writer friends create playlists for their wip or for their characters. Whenever you are stuck, listening to that playlist should get you in the mood to write again by reminding you of your wip!
7. Force yourself to write
This is kind of a last resort, but often when I really can’t find inspiration, I just force myself to sit at my keyboard and write. Set a goal that is easily achievable; tell yourself to write 20 words. Then once you’ve written 20, increase it to 50. Then 100. You may not get further than 100, and that’s okay! But when you write a little bit, it often helps you to find inspiration. And once you’ve written a little bit, writing more gets easier - even if you don’t write a scene in chronological order! Maybe just find a dialogue prompt and choose two of your characters and write a short scene inspired by that. It may help you to get back in touch with your characters and motivate you to continue writing your story.
These are just some tips that work for me, they may not work for you - but try them out if you want! And feel free to add more :) ily