“The reader owns the work and will bring whatever he or she brings to it; all of their criticisms are legitimate… to them”

thanks for this wonderful reminder. As writers, I think we often forget the reviews are for the reader.
best,
Carol

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Elizabeth Gilbert’s Top 10 Tips for Writers to Stay Inspired and Kick-Start Your Creativity
Posted by Cynthia on October 26, 2015

67 likes · 9 comments
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The dreaded blank page. You just can’t find that perfect opening line. Or maybe you’ve finally hit the crucial point in your story only to find that – poof! – inspiration has vanished. Whether you’re a seasoned author or someone struggling to get those first scenes down, there’s always a time where the words stop flowing. Elizabeth Gilbert, whose most recent book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, delves into the many ways we can spark creativity in our lives, recently answered some questions from readers via Ask the Author on Goodreads. It’s no surprise that many of her answers offered encouragement and support to other writers. Read on for 10 ways to conquer that blank page!

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Tip #1: Start Writing.

“At some point today, sit down with paper or a laptop, and set a timer for 15 minutes. You are not allowed to stand up until the 15 minutes are over. During that 15 minutes, write something. Anything — a letter, a poem, a list of people you hate, a prayer, all your favorite words, a childhood memory, a dream. Something. When the timer goes off, you’re done. Pat yourself on the back. You did it! Now do the same thing tomorrow. And the next day. You can do anything for 15 minutes a day. Trust me – stuff will start to happen.” Click here for the full answer.

Tip #2: Be Creative Every Day

“Don’t give up on your creativity! Can your creativity trust YOU? Are you really showing up for it? Or are you waiting for inspiration to magically find you? You don’t have to work long hours on your creative ideas; just do a little bit every day.” Click here for the full answer.

Tip #3: Go Looking for Inspiration

“Most of the inspiration I found in life was because I went looking for it. I spent my 20’s traveling all over the country and world, working in all sorts of different jobs, talking to everyone I met, seeking ideas everywhere.” Click here for the full answer.

Tip #4: Surround Yourself With Optimists

“I don’t care how smart and clever people may be; if they are addicted to a dark view of the world, I don’t want them in my house or anywhere near my life. It’s too heavy. For me, the most inspirational people are the ones who put their shoulders up against the wheel of despair and PUSH back really hard — not just once, not just a few times in their lives, but every single day.” Click here for the full answer.

Tip #5: Dare Yourself to Keep Working

“I dare myself. I set all kinds of dares. “I dare you to write for ten more minutes….I dare you to read five more pages of this book you need for research….I dare you to edit today for a half hour.” I can never resist a dare. And when daring doesn’t work, I’m not above bribery. (Ice cream today? ONLY IF YOU WRITE FIVE PAGES.)” Click here for the full answer.

Tip #6: Trust Your Curiosity

“Follow it always. If something — anything, no matter how silly or seemingly useless or trivial — is interesting to you, pursue it. Everyone is waiting for lightning to strike, but the creative journey is more of a scavenger hunt than it is a tower of flame.” Click here for the full answer.

Tip #7: Create a Ritual

“Nothing I have ever found works better as a ritual for writing than research and preparation.” Click here for the full answer.

Tip #8: Don’t Believe in Writer’s Block

“We diagnose ourselves with “writer’s block”, as if we have come down with a disease. I believe that what we call “writer’s block” is usually a misdiagnosis of some actual other emotional problem that you’re having. That problem could be one of many real things: Anxiety, self-doubt, self-hatred, extreme competitiveness, alcoholism, depression, perfectionism, existential despair, etc. Those are all real conditions, but “writer’s block” is not a real condition.” Click here for the full answer.

Tip #9: Write for Yourself

“I never promised the universe I would be a GOOD writer; I just promised I would be a writer. Period.”Click here for the full answer.

Tip #10: Imagine Your Reader

“I never begin writing a book unless I know exactly whom I am speaking TO. Each one of my books was written to a different person in my life — and I write the book as though I am telling that person a story. So choose someone. Someone you love, ideally. Then sit down and tell the story to that person.” Click here for the full answer.

To see all of Elizabeth Gilbert’s answers, click here. What about you? What’s your go-to secret for staying inspired and being productive?

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Comments (showing 1-9 of 9) (9 new)

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message 1: by Marcia (new)

Oct 27, 2015 08:52AM

Marcia Fine As authors we all do some of these; however, Gilbert’s ideas reinforce more of what we need to do, especially being creative every day. Our brains have to keep working.
Marcia Fine, PARIS LAMB

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message 2: by Bonnie (new)

Oct 27, 2015 11:06AM

Bonnie Glee Wonderful inspiration for gitty-up-and-get-going.5:00 a.m. here I come! Thanks

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message 3: by Alison (new)

Oct 27, 2015 03:04PM

Alison Giles Tip 9 & 10 are my faves. I always write for myself, no deadlines, no demands from publishers, no getting up at 5:00, no punishing or rewarding, just writing when and where I feel like it…it’s very freeing creatively. I also like to imagine I am reading a story to my readers (and I usually do have someone in mind) I find this really helps to get a story started.

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message 4: by Karen (new)

Oct 27, 2015 03:27PM

Karen Chase I know it sounds cheesy, but I read inspiring tips from successful authors like Elizabeth Gilbert with the firm belief that something will sink in deeply. Permanently. Successfully.

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message 5: by Elizabeth (new)

Oct 27, 2015 03:39PM

Elizabeth Barrett Great tips. Actually getting to the computer or notebook every day is essential. And routine helps, knowing that there is a time of every day dedicated to writing, even if it is only ten or fifteen minutes. All those minutes add up. And #9 is excellent. Don’t worry if it’s “good.” Let others judge that. Just write.

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message 6: by Christine (new)

Oct 28, 2015 07:41PM

Christine Lamb And then I come ‘out the other end’ and realise that nothing really matters that much because all creative thoughts are recorded somewhere and they are picked up by somebody who wil run with it – and hopefully write that best seller.

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message 7: by Loyd (new)

Oct 31, 2015 12:51PM

Loyd Uglow Tips 1, 5, and 7 are, in my opinion, the most important ones for writers. In fact, they could be summed up simply as “Writers write.” Many things are helpful for becoming a better writer, but I’ve found the greatest benefit comes simply from practice.
Loyd Uglow, Marksman’s Trinity

reply | flag *

message 8: by Blake (new)

Sep 04, 2016 09:56PM

Blake Hall https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1SZ1…

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message 9: by Justin (new)

21 hours, 59 min ago

Justin This is a good list. Don’t forget to go out there and find a good old fashioned writing prompt. There are tons of sites that offer them (Pinterest, for example) and they can really get you unstuck.

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Hi Michael, thanks for sharing Mark’s link. I agree that the review is so much more helpful, for the writer and readers, than a rating. I find more often I skip the number rating.
thanks for adding to the discussion,
best,
carol

In my mind it comes down to the concept of star ratings in the first place. On my blog I don’t give any form of ratings alongside my reviews, as for me it’s too easy for someone (whether a reader, author or other reviewer) to skip straight to the rating and not actually read the review. The UK theatre critic Mark Shenton talks eloquently about star ratings, and refers to reviews as being about ‘inspiring curiosity’, something that a star rating – high or low – doesn’t really do.

https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2016/mark-shenton-sometimes-a-star-rating-just-isnt-appropriate/

I pretty much agree with you on a rating of 3 being pretty good and 5 being exceptional, and obviously websites like Goodreads and Amazon encourage that sort of measure, but in my opinion a well-written review is worth far more than just a rating. That applies whether it’s a positive review or not, as long as it’s honest and constructive. I don’t see a problem with posting a poor review online, as long as it’s written objectively and isn’t purely criticising as a result of the reviewer’s personal taste. I wouldn’t throw it in an author’s face, but I think it’s only fair for curious readers to be able to get all perspectives on a book before they go out and buy it.

That’s my take on it, anyway. Thanks again for this, it’s got me thinking!

Michael.

I’ve had great reviews, and terrible ones. Sometimes there’s something to learn from the terrible ones, and that’s a gift.

The important thing for me is that once I’ve sold the book, it’s in print, and the reader has paid for it, it no longer belongs to me. The reader owns the work and will bring whatever he or she brings to it; all of their criticisms are legitimate… to them.

There’s only vanity to good reviews and only misery in bad ones.

For what it’s worth, any review, good or bad, will improve sales on Amazon. The real killer is indifference. If your book garners no reviews it’s because nobody cared enough, either to read it or to review it. I’ll take a terrible review over no review at all, and be grateful for it.

The opinions that really matter to me are those of the people I trust, particularly other writers. When a well-known, well-loved writer is happy to blurb my book, or when an academic/writer whose work I admire enjoys something I’ve done… That’s the real thrill.

Hi Aaron, good to be reminded that reviews are for readers. I agree we often blur that line.
best,
Carol

3 is a solid rating. It does mean average, which is not bad. It means the book was worth reading, worth buying, and didn’t make the reader cringe. That said, self published authors think that reviews are for them, but they aren’t. Reviews are for readers; they are a service given by readers for readers, and the cold truth is that 99% of writers can’t write, which is why they get bad reviews from readers, however, they get all these fake rave reviews from their writing brethren in an effort to reciprocate, which is an abhorrent practice. Writers need editors; it’s why King, Martin, and Rowling have teams of editors to comb through their mess and turn words on pages into a story worth experiencing. I’m not implying that these self published writers don’t have great ideas, but their execution is most always subpar. I always check the 1 star reviews, which are obviously by non writing readers, and then check the 5 star reviews, which are obviously by other authors, who only glossed over the premise of the title, but didn’t actually read the book. It’s okay, though; this mostly pertains to Amazon. On BnN, you see a lot of honest reader reviews, and soon, the wheat will be separated from the chaff. Thanks for your article, and I hope everyone here comes to realize that reviews are for readers.

Hi Jill, I agree, being an author gave me a different perspective on ratings. Before publishing my novels, I never rated or wrote reviews. Now, I realize how important they are and want to support other writers. I also agree, the best solution seems to be to withhold ratings when I can’t give an honest 3,4,5.
I’m not sure a 10 point scale will help. My HR experience was that no matter which scale you use, everyone wants the top numbers. Still, I sometimes write in my review that a book is more a 3.5 etc. so I guess that’s like saying it’s a 7 on a 10 point scale. The real solution might be to ditch the numbers and just right a thoughtful review.

Hi E.V., it’s interesting hearing different points of view.
Ratings can be terrifying 🙂
I find most people are generous and tactful when they review and the comments from folks who rate a book a 3 are often not mediocre. I’ve learned a lot as a writer from reader insights and comments, regardless of the number rating they apply.