The Hot Mess of Being Uninspired
Hey Boos,
I’ve been away, just taking some time off because…I just needed time. With working a full-time job, being a mom and trying to release two books this year in addition to writing the next two for next year takes a toll.
I was able to hang with friends and family, I celebrated my birthday, and now I feel as summer is winding down, it’s time to get back to business. At the end of this month, LOVE ME AGAIN (my second-chance romance) will be released into the world for all to read.
It’s an exciting time!
But with every new release comes the relief of it being out and also the realization that I can work on the million other ideas I have or… I need another story.
Fuck…I need another story.
When that thought pops in my head, I get immediate heartburn, the room begins to spin and beads of sweat start dripping down…it’s really an exhausting experience.
It was hard enough to come up with an original storyline and dialogue, how can I do that over and over again? WHY do I want to keep doing it over and over again?
Because I’m a masochist. Just like most writers. I love the pain of writers block, with the sweet bliss of writing a smooth transition and then the slow decline into pure hot panic when the characters run amuck! Then it’s back to the sweet blissful pain of getting the story on track and to an end.
Some of the biggest question that I get asked a bunch is, where do you get all your ideas from? What do you do when you are done with one book? How are you always inspired?
Every writer is different, so when I divulge my secrets please don’t come after me if it don’t work for you.
Inspiration comes from a bunch of different sources. But before I get into all that, let’s go way back, when the idea for my OLLIE APPLE SERIES came about.
Once upon a time,
A younger Jojo was at home listening to Ariana Grande and her song FOCUS came on.
As the song started, she got vivid images and flashes, almost like a music video. She saw a woman plotting and scheming to steal this diamond, almost like a mission impossible. The woman was sexy and smart; seducing the cop that was after her, and after the break in the song, they had a skillfully choreographed fight in which she eventually escapes with diamond in hand.
For those who read the first book know that there are elements in those flashes that carried over to the actual story; the stolen diamond, fight scenes, a cop. And there are really big changes that took place once I actually started writing the book; changing her from thief to lawyer and adding a thief but keeping the cop, setting up a perfect love triangle.
If only it were that easy.
The elements were there but it took months to flesh out and years to actually write it all down.
And because I knew that it was going to be a series, I already had an idea on where the story was going to go.
First scribbles of LOVE ME AGAIN
With my new release, LOVE ME AGAIN, inspiration came from a completely different source. I was in the middle of writing a completely different story (A holiday romance that will be released December 2023) and got into an argument with my husband. Because I am the hot head in our relationship, I decided to take a shower. As the water was cascading down my body, I heard yelling.
We were living in NYC, so it’s not a shock to hear yelling but…this yelling were two distinct voices and they were arguing about something heavy. I kept my eyes closed and saw the scene, saw the couple, heard their dialogue…it was so vivid that I could have sworn that I had witnessed actual events.
I finished my shower in record time and ran to grab a notebook and pen and began to scribble the first two chapters that turned out to be LOVE ME AGAIN.
I’m telling you all of this to show you that inspiration can come from everywhere, especially in moments that you least expect.
I hate to admit it because I feel like I should have a ridiculous amount of ideas in the vault, but there are times when ideas don’t flow so easy or I do have an idea but I just don’t want to write…I’m uninspired.
For every LAWYER book or LOVE ME AGAIN, there are a million first chapters of stories that I begin to write but leave alone because there are other stories that are more vivid and “easier” to write.
And sometimes it takes long to write a story because I just…stop writing.
The point of this whole blog post that took me a million years to get to is…how do we get uninspired?
It’s normal to feel blah, to have your brain feel like mush, to not want to write a damn thing.
It’s normal, it’s normal, it’s normal…IT’S NORMAL!
So, you are in need of a new idea but don’t know how to get out of your funk? Don’t know where to get your inspiration from? You have an idea but don’t want to actually write?
Let’s start with the obvious, get some rest. Your brain is a muscle. Sometimes muscles need to rest and relax. Take a vacation from all the stresses of life. Maybe you don’t want to write because you simply don’t want to write. Just chill out. I took the month of august off just for that reason. I took a break from writing, and some long weekends to get away from my day job. Granted, covid got me and my family but it also forced me to rest. Now, I’m back and eager to finish the Ollie Apple series.
Live life. Just because you’re resting doesn’t mean that your life stops. I always keep my ears and eyes open when I’m running errands. There’s a million times I’ve stood on the train platform waiting for the Q to Brooklyn and I’ve eavesdropped on peoples conversations or situations and formed a short story, flash fiction or scene for my books. Maybe you’re uninspired because your story isn’t the story you should be writing now.
Use the scene around you. Look at the way the trees sway, the neighborhood smells, they way people look and interact with each other…it’s all inspiration. Maybe it’ll spark a new idea.
Watch movies, read books, listen to music….the works of others could trigger your inspiration. Watching the final product of someones time and work could be the push you need to finish your own work.
Immersing yourself in the works of arts of others maybe the spark that you need. Exercise, move your body. Twerk, hike, walk the mall, I don’t care what you do, just get active. I noticed that when I move my body, I tend to have more energy to do all the writing stuff. Something about endorphins or something…I’m not sure but I’m pretty sure there’s a science behind it all.
I’m going to stop my list here. When I talk about uninspired, I don’t mean that you can’t come up with ideas. Sometimes the ideas are there, it’s just that you don’t have the energy to just write. You don’t have the drive to keep it going. That’s okay. Just chill out…work on something new or not…you’ll end up working on something in no time.
Love Always,
J.L.