This is one of those times I’m going to blog about something I’m admittedly struggling with in the hopes it inspires me, (and maybe you too!)
Namely: changing from one creative project to another.
You may have encountered this before. Perhaps you’re trying to draft one story while you wait on edits for another. Or you’ve sent your first manuscirpt out to the query trenches, and now you need to write something new.
Maybe, like me, you’re a debut author who is also trying to write a new book.
It’s not easy, to split your thoughts, your hopes, your creative enegry between two projects. I’ve come up with a few ideas, but I’d love to hear your thoughts too!
- Image board!
I admittedly do this the old-fashioned way, where I print out random things that give me story-related feels, then tape them to a posterboard I hang by my writing nook. It’s a great way to get some visual inspiration. However, most people I know use pinterest… which is the exact same thing, without the whole “attempting not to glue yourself to bits of paper.”
Here’s a mini version of mine for my new project.
- Playlist!
One of my all-time favorite things to do! Simply hop on spotify, or 8tracks, and start adding songs to a list that will give you all the feelings of your main characters.
Here’s one for my next story: link to spotify - Pretend to be your main character
Okay. Maybe don’t do this if your main character is a brain-eating zombie or something, but I find a little method acting can be a lot of fun. Maybe it’s eating a food (not brains!) that your character likes, or perusing a store they might frequent. Have fun with it! - Art!
If you can, draw your characters! Or commission an artist (I’ve found amazing ones on Tumblr!) to draw them for you.
Here’s a sketch the amazing Linnea did of my new MCs. I love how she captured their personalities too!
Okay! So I’ve shared my favorite ways to start a new project. Now, tell me, what are yours?
Creatively Carrie 