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By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Successful writers must maintain a fresh writing perspective, or their writing will fall flat. No getting around it. How do we climb back onboard the optimism train when we no longer have enthusiasm about our books, blogs, articles, poems, screenplays, or other types of writing?

How do we rekindle a fresh perspective when we are disillusioned due to—

• We’re on a nightmare deadline.
• We’ve haven’t been paid.
• We’re under a career obligation to complete the manuscript.
• It’s detrimental to our career to back out of a project.
• The project has been rejected, and a rewrite is essential.
• We’re a perfectionist.
• We’re jealous of other’s success and can’t seem to eliminate the negativity from our thoughts.
• Life around us is out of control—family, friends, a day job, faith, health, and circumstances that take up our time.

How can we take the necessary steps to once again have a fresh perspective?

Here are 7 steps to help you climb onboard and stay there!

1. Seek guidance from other writers in a quest to find excitement for our writing again.
2. List our positive writer qualities. Place them in a prominent place where we can review them daily.
3. Be determined to find the enthusiasm that once excited us about our writing. Accept the fire has died and choose to light a match to our inspiration.
   1. Discover the original enthusiasm about the project.
   2. Find three things that we like about it.
   3. Explore what we don’t like about it.
4. Analyze what happened to cause our discouragement.
   1. The idea needs more plot, information, editing, research, or resources.
   2. We learn about a similar writing project and changing ours is depressing.
   3. We are on a deadline and finishing the project is overwhelming.
   4. The project needs a total rewrite.
5. Determine to make changes.
   1. Schedule time every day to work on the project.
   2. Seek out help if needed.
6. Take a break from the project. Walk away. Do something other than think negatively.
   1. Sometimes we become trapped in our own prison where self-doubts keep us chained.
   2. Many times a physical activity (sweat) breaks through our inability to create.
7. Mentor a serious writer. When we put aside our own problems and concentrate on helping another, we are blessed.

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who invites her readers to step into stories where suspense meets adventure and romance warms the heart. Known for crafting unforgettable characters tangled in unpredictable plots, DiAnn believes every breath we take unfolds a story waiting to be told—so why not make it thrilling?