Beating the Winter Writing Blues

If you’re in a winter writing slump I’ve got inspiration on tap. Writers are like snowflakes; all different, all beautiful in our own unique writing way. Sometimes we just need a moment of writing solace to gather our thoughts and ideas. Find a quiet space to meditate. Speak positive words to yourself. Reclaim your writing space by clearing away clutter and sprinkling in inspiration. Add positive quotes, soothing photos, and motivational notes. It’s the perfect time to create the vision board or box discussed in the September 28, 2021, post, Vision Boards and Boxes.

Need more motivation? It’s hard to write when your cup is empty. You may need a battery recharge. Give yourself a self-care snow day. Take an invigorating walk in the brisk air. Breathe in the crisp chill. Notice the wintery scent the frosty wind brings. Feel the iciness that touches your face. Exhale and marvel at the warm cloud gathering in front of you. Do this a few times. Gaze at the winter sky, notice the bare branches of trees as you walk. Listen to the crunching sound as you trek over snow and the sloshing of tires as they drive through the slush. Let inspiration move you. Let new ideas flow.

Head home and relax with a cup of hot chocolate. Indulge in a warm bubble bath or a decadent sweet treat. Binge-watch a new series, listen to your favorite music, talk to an old friend. Do something to unwind. Ah, now that you’re relaxed, fire up the laptop.

Think outside the writing box and let the words in your mind guide you. Be brave. Bring your characters to new heights by placing them in unexpected situations. Plunge them into difficult dilemmas to excite the reader or throw them into an uplifting or gratifying situation. Add a surprising or thrilling twist to a chapter with a lackluster feel. Check that you’re using the five senses or at least two or three in every scene. Make a dull sentence sparkle by love bombing your paragraphs with distinctive words.

Need more inspiration? Incorporate the season into your story. Since it’s winter, describe a frigid location, perhaps a ski lodge with your protagonist sitting in front of a roaring fire and sipping a hot-buttered rum while snow flurries glitter across the ceiling-to-floor windows and skiers navigate their way to the bottom of the slope. Describe a secluded mountain-top home in Colorado with a view of the snowy valley and giant icicles hanging from the roof. Feature an outdoor ice-skating rink on a beautiful lake, surrounded by snow-dusted evergreens, where your hero and heroine enjoy a private romantic moment gliding across the glassy ice.

Add to these scenes. What happens next? Does your protagonist in the ski lodge meet her soulmate or does an avalanche engulf the area? Are the characters in your secluded mountain-top home in a dystopian world? Are they met with an ill-fated happenstance, or do they witness something in the sky that’s otherworldly and sci-fi worthy? Is the romantic rendezvous with your skaters occurring in a post-apocalyptic world? What happens to the romance when a crack in the ice creates chaos, and strangers with guns approach?

Expand on these ideas and let the writing-spark within, escape!