Find What Inspires You

Let's be honest for a second. Writing is a lot of work, and even though I love it, I even find times that I really just don't want to do it. I know I have to, but it becomes very tiring.

For a while I had not been able to figure out how to make writing less work (not lazy, just efficient). But now I think I have it figured out.

INSPIRATION!

Yea I know, it sounds really corny and even obvious at first, but I'm not talking about inspiration for a specific story; I'm talking about inspiration to write at all. Its so easy to forget why we write. It becomes work, and then we start thinking of ways to avoid it, and its a slippery slope from there to not wanting to write at all anymore.

Personally I have found some of this inspiration in my younger cousin Elizabeth. She just turned 5 last month, and I can't believe how much she loves books and writing. She is a talented, smart, caring and wonderful little girl. There is so much enthusiasm in her that it over-flows. Her smile and laugh are contagious, and she knows just what to do to make you feel special.

Here she is enjoying my closet of books, or as she calls it, her library.

 She is so curious and innocent that she reminds me to write because I want to; not because I have to. She gets such a pure joy from looking through a book, even though she can't read the words, the mere thought of the words is exciting to her. 

I try to embody this attitude about my writing. Joy should come from the act of putting those words on the page.

Here is Elizabeth explaining to my why she loves the scary books that I like. She is one brave girl.

She is so happy to be among those books that it is contagious. Elizabeth inspires me to write what I want to write. Not what other people want you to write. I write for me (it kind of looks like that's what she's saying in that picture). She forces me to remember to write for the fun of it. It doesn't always have to be work.