Writer’s Foreplay

It’s sometimes hard to get in the mood. After a hard day at work, all I want to do is take a long hot bubbly bath and then slouch on the sofa to watch some TV. But something keeps nagging me – I know I should make more time to do it, not squeeze it in as an after thought.

The stupid thing is I love to do it – it is energising when you really get into it and I always feel a sense of satisfaction afterwards. If I am buzzing about a fresh idea to try out then it’s easier to get started but I don’t want to get down to the same old thing because routine is just too boring when you’ve done it the same way for a few times in a row.

I am talking about writing an article of course! Why? What were you thinking?

So I start with taking a long hot bubbly bath and I think about what has happened during my day. Much of it is work related as I settle down and try to unwind but then little snippets of more interesting material pop into my head. Maybe it’s a conversation I had at the water machine with a colleague that borders on being a friend. Sometimes it may be a chat I have had over lunch or a debate I have got involved in during a coffee break. Often, my ideas may come from conversations I have overheard – one sided conversations of a heated phone call are always interesting as I get to imagine and make up what the other person may be saying!

When I settle down later to start my triond work, I always start with a kind of triond roulette. Reading other peoples articles are always good foreplay to writing – not to get ideas but to get into the flow and the mood for writing. Everyone has a different style and the topics are endless – you can get lost in the maze of amazing articles, tripping from one to the next.

At the very least, I always indicate if I have liked an article and I comment if I feel it will be genuine. I don’t comment for the sake of it because I have to connect with the writer.

By this stage I am warming into it nicely. So I check out the news sites to see if anything is really provoking my thoughts enough to formulate something on paper. I keep a notebook to jot my ideas and responses down so that I can come back to it later.

I always take a look at my content and earnings – that always helps to get me in the mood for sure! I re-read my articles that are getting lots of views but I also take a look at those which are gathering dust. This helps me to warm into my more successful style and avoid the type of writing that is not so appealing.

So by now, I am in the mood to write. If I have a definite idea – I pen it and publish it pretty quickly. If I am unsure, I write it anyway and sleep on it. Usually I mull it over as I doze off – and that can lead to some very surreal dreams!

If I fail to get in the mood, I am getting better at knowing when to quit and go and do something entirely different. But usually, with a little writer’s foreplay – I can get myself started!