How do you find inspiration?

[LindseyFelton]

Hey. I am a university student. I'm not very fond of writing and writing essays. But then I was asked to write an essay. I wonder how you find inspiration and write essays?

[DoloresM]

Hi Lindsey,

I find inspiration from many places. Newspaper articles, podcasts, etc. I sometimes find inspiration from mysteries I read, as I'm a mystery writer, I find a little nugget in the authors I admire. As far as essay writing goes, I would research the topic, and see where my first instinct leads me. Where would I start? If my first instinct is a podcast, I'd listen to that first, I hope this helps. I had to write many essays back in my college days.

[LindseyFelton]

Hey. I did as you said. I rested literature, sat in silence and did what inspired me. wrote an essay but the teacher rated it very low and gave it a bad mark. I think the problem is in me, probably I did something wrong. And after a bad grade, I don't want to risk it anymore. I think to ask the professionals for help. Thank you very much for the advice, it is now easier for me to concentrate and start writing, but I think I have little experience in this)

[lunk]

Writing is a craft, not something you do only if you get inspired. It’s a craft, and you learn it by doing it. Write, read what you’ve written, re-write it, read it again, re-write, etc. And when you’re not writing, read! Read books, articles, short-stories, news papers. And then start writing something else. The only way to learn how to write is to do it.
So stop thinking about inspiration, just write, read, re-write, etc.

[xiamenese]

And buying your essay won't help you to develop your writing. In my book, that's actually cheating unless you make it absolutely clear that you didn't write the essay.

[Orpheus]

Writing is a craft, not something you do only if you get inspired. It’s a craft, and you learn it by doing it. Write, read what you’ve written, re-write it, read it again, re-write, etc. And when you’re not writing, read! Read books, articles, short-stories, news papers. And then start writing something else. The only way to learn how to write is to do it.
So stop thinking about inspiration, just write, read, re-write, etc.

Good advice. Especially exposing yourself to a lot of good writing. I would also add that especially in the final stages to read it out loud, that helps you to find a lot of mistakes that tired eyes don't pick up and it also helps with the flow and cadence of your writing.

[lunk]

Good advice. Especially exposing yourself to a lot of good writing. I would also add that especially in the final stages to read it out loud, that helps you to find a lot of mistakes that tired eyes don't pick up and it also helps with the flow and cadence of your writing.

Even bad writing might teach you something, if you try to understand why it feels bad. Newspaper articles often have some really bad parts because an editor has shortened it by just cutting off bits and pieces. This leads to strange texts, and reading those and trying to understand why they fail may teach you something.
Read it out loud? Absolutely! Or have someone else, or even the computer, read it out to you.

[Orpheus]

Good advice. Especially exposing yourself to a lot of good writing. I would also add that especially in the final stages to read it out loud, that helps you to find a lot of mistakes that tired eyes don't pick up and it also helps with the flow and cadence of your writing.

Even bad writing might teach you something, if you try to understand why it feels bad. Newspaper articles often have some really bad parts because an editor has shortened it by just cutting off bits and pieces. This leads to strange texts, and reading those and trying to understand why they fail may teach you something.
Read it out loud? Absolutely! Or have someone else, or even the computer, read it out to you.

There is a book/website called Web Pages that Suck http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/ whose motto is "Learn good web design by studying bad web design." That principle applies to writing and a lot of other subjects as well.