Waiting for Inspiration for your book?

If you’re sitting around “waiting to be inspired” to work on your book, you might be waiting awhile.

If you’re using this excuse for why you’re stuck on page one, it’s time to assess what’s really going on. Are you procrastinating? Are you afraid your book will suck? Do you think no one will read it? Are you using workload as an excuse?

When we “wait for inspiration,” we give away our power to an outside source. Never have I once just been struck with inspiration without setting out a welcome mat for it. I know that I have to be the type of person who gets inspired to be able to be inspired. Funny how that works.

I know that there are certain actions that make me the type who gets inspired. I’ve identified them for myself over the years. During the times that I’m busy, not doing those actions, and not believing in my own personal magic . . . inspiration stays far away.

That believing is important in the beginning because it eventually turns to a knowing, and knowing is when you realize that the book was there all along. If that book is already there, then it’s 10 times easier to write it.

It all starts with mindset, but it also involves some things you can do to set the scene for inspiration to show up, that welcome mat I mentioned.

Here are two ways that you can get around the waiting and start writing right now by creating the space for inspiration to show up and hang out a while!

1. Create the right atmosphere for writing. Read something you’ve written, watch a video of your talk, or read another book that inspires you. I found myself hugely inspired when I read Daring Greatly, and I constantly wanted to work on my books, articles, etc. because of it. It could be different for you, so look for what inspires you and use it as your jumping off point. This is part of how that believing turns to knowing. I KNOW that when I sit down at my desk and think about something I can write, I’m ready. It used to take reading other pieces. It used to take relaxing and stretching for a moment, and trying to get my head straight. It used to take a nudge, a deadline, or some other external force to “make me” write. Now, it just takes sitting down. I’m excited to write because I feel connected to the Universe. I feel the words flow from my fingers. It’s almost a relief to sit down and let them pour out instead of swimming in my head all day. That knowing came from practice, and the desire is now internal. I don’t need accolades or shares or someone saying I did it right. I just need to do it.
2. Catch the moment when it comes. One of the most inspiring things that I do is talking to my clients. After I get off of a coaching call, I have tons of great, on-target ideas for writing. Why? Because I just talked to someone who is ideal for my business. They ask questions and get guidance that is spot-on in my wheelhouse. I always block off time after the calls to make notes on what to write or to write an article. That conversation is something that gets my ideas percolating, and I know that I will crank out something helpful if I’m in the same stream of thought as I was on the call.

If you’re one of those people who get struck with inspiration in the middle of the night, that’s amazing! Use that to your advantage by writing when you are awakened, or recreate those inspirational moments by taking an afternoon nap, asking Inspiration to come back at 10 am when you’re at your desk, jotting notes and then working on them when you are ready, or meditate before you write so your brain is operating in theta waves and is relaxed and open to creativity.

What are you doing to grab inspiration and write?