Goodreads asked Carper Smith:

How do you get inspired to write?

Carper Smith This is a tough one. The truth is, I don’t wait for inspiration to strike. I made a rule for myself that I would write every day (even if it was just a journal entry or bunches of email at work on a really busy day). Since then I have amended the rule to writing six days a week. So, inspired or not, if it’s a writing day, I have to sit down and write. There are times, however, when I get stuck. For me, this is sometimes that I took a story in the wrong direction in which case I have to go back to where it was right and start again from there. Other times, it’s because I'm scared that what I write isn’t going to be good enough in which case, I have learned to give myself permission to suck. Then, after telling myself out loud I have permission to suck, I just write whatever without fear of it being bad or good in order to get through it. (I can always go back and fix it later, and usually it turns out that it isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be—sometimes, it has even been good.)

flag