Remember what inspired you to write
By: Lucas R. Marmor
Tags: Writers On Writing, Self Improvement, Writers Block, Inspiration, Writing

Remember what inspired you to write

Are you having a fear of writing thinking no one is going to read your work, or hitting a writing block preventing you from pushing forward?

Photo — by Pexels Cottonbro

) What planted that seed?

For me, it began when I was a kid learning about the early American presidents and how they grew up either having very little or becoming self-taught. I was always amazed by Abraham Lincoln who would practice his writing on the back of a wooden shovel. Then there was my personal favorite, President Thomas Jefferson who I idolized his penmanship as well as his words still to this day.

I remember when I learned how to write in cursive, and I would always have this thought that would get me really excited about how wonderful it would be to write something like Thomas Jefferson. The problem I had at the time was I really didn’t know what exactly to write about because I didn’t want to just write about anything.

I was so strict on myself with the thought that if I was to give such effort in writing something then it should be on the level of something Jefferson would write about. Anyone would think if you are going to write something pretty and you want people to read it then it better be something worthwhile to look at. What a silly boy I was.

“if you are going to write something pretty and you want people to read it then it better be something worthwhile to look at.” — L.Marmor Quit holding yourself back!

Photo — Unsplash by Laura Choutte

2.) When the Realization Hit.

It was in my 10th grade year of high school in English class when I when we began reading the works of different authors and writing styles. It was at this point I was introduced to the works of Edgar Allen Poe and I was hooked wanting to know more about this mysterious writer. Poe had such a vast vocabulary as his stories were twisted and intriguing to me, that I had to know more.

I began reading as much as I could about Mr. Poe with what was available in my school library. This was in the mid to later 1990’s so the internet was in its early stages as it was just being introduced to the public. At this point, I realized that I had gone through my younger years with my own weird stories in my head that I had wanted to write about creating my own book, graphic novel, or comic.

It simply didn’t happen because I held myself back with the notion that it wouldn’t be good enough or that it would sound blatantly ridiculous. Realizing, if I only would have looked past the insecurity and fear and just wrote one of those silly stories I would have accomplished something! Again, what a silly boy I was.

“Realizing, if I only would have looked past the insecurity and fear and just wrote one of those silly stories I would have accomplished something!” -L. Marmor Use this affirmation as motivation!

Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash

3.) Getting back to your Original Inspiration.

Now that I am older and I have finally chosen to write for a living, I still run into those same fears and writing block issues. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say on the contrary, but rather it's a matter of me getting in my own way of just writing. When it happens I recognize it, and I look back at some of my favorite writers briefly and their views thus breaking the cycle of fear and block.

Sometimes we must take that small break and look at something else that helps us realign our thoughts and motivation with writing. The same thing happens to other people who are in any creative line of work where they keep staring at the same project over and over. The interesting part about this issue is that you are the answer to your own dilemma when it comes to getting past this.