How To Rediscover Your Love of Writing

How much do you enjoy writing these days? A major reason why many of us struggle to write more is because we simply don't enjoy it anymore. What was once a carefree creative adventure has become a painful slog, about as much fun as a wet weekend indoors with the in-laws...

So how can you begin to rediscover your almost forgotten love of writing again? Here are 7 steps to get you on your way:

1. Reconnect with the reasons why you write. When you first began writing, what motivated you to? What did it bring you that nothing else could? What were you able to do through your writing, and during your time spent writing, that can’t be replaced by anything else?
2. Find which topics you most enjoy writing about. It might be factual or scientific subjects that inspire you most. Or maybe it’s heartwarming romantic stories or futuristic science fiction fantasy. What are the areas that interest you most and that you feel drawn to write about and explore?
3. Ask which styles of writing you have you most fun writing in. Again there’s an almost infinite range. What are the forms of writing you’ve enjoyed more than any other? Poems? Short stories? Essays? Plays? Recall some of the times your writing has been most fun and flowing.
4. Reveal what you’ve always wanted to write. If you could write about any subject and in any style, what would it be? If you didn’t have to worry about what anyone else thought or said, or what the outcome was, what are you truly burning to write about?
5. Eliminate one thing you do that limits your writing enjoyment. If you’re honest with yourself, you already know what you do that stops you enjoying your writing more. And you know the steps you could take to reduce its negative impact. Don’t just think about it, do it!
6. Ask what you’d write if you only had an hour left to live. This will cut straight through all your surface confusion and get right to the heart of what you want to write. How could the last hour of your writing life be as much fun as possible? What and how would you write?
7. Pick a small project and start. All of the above will help you prepare--now it’s time for the pen to hit the page. Pick a manageable, fun writing project, based on what you’ve discovered from the steps above, sit down where you won’t be disturbed and just write what comes.

These 7 steps will get you well on your way to enjoying your writing and reconnecting with the reasons writing plays such a crucial part in your life. Time to stop reading and start putting those steps into action!