Love, Relationships, and Christmas – Perfect Writer Inspiration

It is a natural thing for writers to struggle for inspiration sometimes. We may start off writing a fabulous, exciting and unusual story, only to hit the dreaded writer’s block, and end up banging our heads on a desk in frustration. Don’t panic. There is a way out of this situation. In fact, there is inspiration everywhere we look in our daily lives. We only have to actually see it, and turn it into words.

My inspiration at the moment comes largely from human emotion and the way we structure our relationships. Love Hurts is about a woman who falls in love with a vampire, although at first she doesn’t know his secret. She also faces confusion and uncertainty when she meets his identical twin brother, who happens to be a werewolf. I am fascinated by the situation where my heroine, Jessica, can be in love with Jack but not Danny, even though they look the same. What makes them different? An awful lot of things actually, not least their personalities and the way they handle their lives.

I remember when I was at university, and spent two weeks at a time living 250 miles away from my now husband. We thought we could handle the separation and that our relationship would survive. It did, obviously, but there were some serious issues in the aftermath of graduation and everything we had experienced both individually and together. There was one CD that I would play on a regular basis, every time I missed my fiancé and wanted to express my emotions. That CD is the soundtrack to the film Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann (2001). Strangely, I haven’t felt the need to listen to it much during the past few years. I suppose it was a passing phase, part of my growing up.

I mention this simply because it popped into my head tonight while I was preparing dinner for myself and our daughter. Today I have been feeling very nostalgic about Christmas, remembering my childhood excitement, and looking forward to the memories we will give to our child. I have also been wondering how Christmas would be for Jessica and Jack in Redcliffe, the Cornish setting for my novel. I am intrigued to think how a vampire and werewolf would celebrate the season. I suppose they do it just like humans do. They were raised by Christian parents, so they hold the traditional values. And Jessica’s foster parents raised her as a Christian also, although admittedly religion isn’t really a theme in my book.

Returning to the original point, if you are suffering from a lack of inspiration, take a look at your characters. If your novel or short story is not set specifically during the holidays, then perhaps you could write a side-line story about your characters at Christmas. This may then lead to a whole host of new situations, activities, and maybe even new characters and plotlines, which will get you started again ready for the New Year.

Remember, however, that you are allowed to take a break. If you really cannot write anymore, then don’t. A forced story is not a good one. Leave it for a week or two, enjoy yourself and relax, and then carry on when you feel refreshed and revitalized. Merry Christmas!

For more details on Love Hurts, please see my website http://www.catherine-green.co.uk

By Catherine Green.