Inspiration

(I took this picture on my way to work one morning.)

I've never suffered from writer's block. I have a box full of story ideas, character profiles, scenes, and picture prompts. Not to mention the ideas still rattling around in my head.

My problem is--after a long day of work, I come home to dirty laundry, dust, a full litterbox, and a stack of mail. Besides all that, three of my favorite TV shows, House, Survivor,and Fringe, are recorded and beckon me to watch them. Thank God, Hell's Kitchen ended last month!

Carving out some writing time is a daily struggle. I wake up with the best intentions and plan my evening to allow for two hours of writing, but things come up, or a household task proves to be more involved, taking up more time than the hour I've alotted for it.

I find that unless I write every day, whether it's a blog post, a poem, a chapter in my WIP, or even a story idea, I lose my momentum. One night or one morning without writing can send me into a tailspin of inactivity. One day turns into two days, and so on. Although story ideas continue to pop into my head, I've gone weeks without writing anything down on paper. I cringe when I think of all the ideas I've forgotten because I was too busy to write them down.

So, how do I get back on track? What do I do to drag myself away from the Facebook ticker and the Twitter timeline?

I read writer's blogs. Not the, "How-to" type of blogs where there is heaps of info about how to make your characters stand out or how to fine-tune your plot. Those sites come in handy when I need help with my projects, but when I'm not working on anything, it all sounds like, 'blah, blah, blah.'

I'm talking about the writer's blogs with posts about their own struggles to fit writing time into their schedules along with hobbies, day jobs, families, illnesses, and other crises. Reading blogs such as:

Sarah's Blog

Pam's Blog

Lynne's Blog

and

Courtney's Blog  (Just to name a few...)

usually does wonders to push me out of that "writing funk" I so easily slip into. These are real people with real lives and struggles and still they manage to find time to write and (the ultimate writer's goal) get published. Reading about their accomplishments through all the hardships of daily life is like a swift kick in the butt, for me. A shot of motivation to get to work on my own dreams and goals.

With all the talk about blog fatigue and how bloggers and readers are losing interest, I can only hope that my favorite bloggers continue to post about their lives and their accomplishments. Not only do I find their posts interesting, I also find them inspiring.

What inspires you?