Young Writers Society

I am positive that I am not the only one who has had this problem. You have a moment of inspiration and spew out a beautiful thousand words or so, but when you go to continue the piece the words just lack the luster that seemed to flood into your writing before. I suppose it could be considered writing block, but it seems more of a fluctuation of style and intensity to me.

How do you consistently deliver writing that inspires both your audience to read and you to write?

And what helps you stay in the tone/style that you place upon a specific creation?

First draft: Don't worry about it.

You will come across many style fluctuations as you find your own voice as a writer. You've got to figure out the character and how they want to be talked about. The important part is to have an actual first draft to edit, so just let all the weirdness get out.

When you reread to edit (Suggested that you wait a few months before rereading), start to notice which styles you prefer along with all the other stuff you're picking up on in the reread (plot holes, out of character moments/flat characters, bad pacing) and try to keep those styles in mind as you rewrite to fix any of the major issues. (Which you very likely will have!), but, again, don't worry about it too much. Worry more about getting good characters and a solid plot.

Consistant style comes as you keep writing. You can't just rely on inspiration to keep your style the same— you actually have to write frequently, edit what you do write, and sometimes force yourself to write. You ship your writing off to beta readers (2+) and they tell you what they like and don't; you then take their advice with a grain of salt and edit what you feel is best for the story.

I say be bold. Most people inhibit themselves without realising it.

See, the way your brain naturally works is that if something fails, don't do it again. This is good, because it keeps us from harm and makes us productive, but sometimes it fails us. Like when you put your hand up in class, get the answer wrong and make a fool of yourself. Your instinct is to avoid answering any more questions, rather than to seek the right answer. It's just the way we work.

So if you think of an idea and dismiss it straight away, your brain won't seek a different answer, it will just stop congouring them. That's when you hit that brick, trip over and fall flat on your face.

If you want to feel inspired, let the ideas come out. Start with a piece of paper and write all the obvious ideas of what is going to happen next, then keep going until the less obvious ones come out. Aim for a list of ten, or even twenty.

Congratulate yourself for the ideas, rather than dismissing them. Then go with your favourite one.

Favourite, that is the important part. Don't shy away from the ideas you're less familiar with or that you think aren't normal, because these are the ones that will inspire you most, and the ones that both you and your reader will have the most fun with.