How I Write-- What inspires you to start/keep writing?

Books can be hard to start at times. All those blank pages can be overwhelming at times. ESPECIALLY, if you're starting with action. I don't know about you, but fighting scenes are the hardest for me to write.

So how do I get started?

I listen to music. A lot of it. I play it loud so that it blocks out the world and focus on my chars. Sometimes the first sentence will pop up, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes a line for the lyrics will snag something from my brain.

However, before this whole process starts, I usually will surf the net (a lot) or go on Pinterest and look at the images, hoping they'll spark ideas. I look for ideas of clothing, of objects the characters may have or use, of what their room may look like, etc. I pool it all together to get a better impression of the main characters and their life.

Sometimes random scenes will jump out at me. Usually these are highly charged and exciting. Scenes I can't WAIT to write. So I jot them down and usually some lines, if I remember them so that I don't forget. I'm bad, especially at night, if I get an idea, not jotting it down. I can guarantee by morning I'll forget. But during the day while the computer is open, I can easily go into the World Bible and jot those notes down. Because I write a series, I don't have tons of World Bibles. The whole world exists in one file so it's easy to find.

Getting to the end of a project is harder than starting. Yes, some ideas will flow as I write but there are times I'll get stuck. This is where I bug someone and pester them with questions or brainstorm with them. Sometimes, you just need that other person's thoughts. I'm lucky to be surrounded by a lot of great writers and friends. I'm not a first draft plotter. I'm more of a second draft plotter, so writing that first draft is a writing as I go process. However, music will always revive my inspiration.

For more on what inspires writers to get into their stories, check out these blogs:

Danie Ford
Emma G. Delaney
Kimberly Farris
Kristen Koster