So there you are, ready to write the Great American Novel. You have this phenomenal idea and at least one fabulous character.

And then?

Nothing.

You sit down to write, but Madame Inspiration has suddenly turned shy and is hiding under the bed or in a dark corner somewhere and you can’t get her to come out.

However, the truth is, Inspiration really isn’t that shy. You just think she is because you haven’t learned how to tempt her into sitting next to you while you write.

The truth is, unless she knows you’re serious about courting her, she will continue to shy away from you every time you ask her to come out.

So your next question probably goes something like, “But how do I do that?”

Right?

The short answer? All you have to o is write every day whether you’re in the mood or not.

So now you groan and say something like, “But I don’t feel like it!” or “But I’m not inspired!”

Get over it.

The truth is, the more you write, the more inspired you get. The reason I know this, is because I used to voice the same complaints. I used to wait for Madame Inspiration to sit next to me before cranking up the computer or putting pen to paper.

And guess what? She absolutely refused to come out and play, let alone talk to me.

So then I started writing every day whether I felt like it or not. I set an absolute minimum of 500 words per day and for three weeks I sat down and cranked out those words. As it takes 21 days to create a habit, I figured that 21 days might be just what I needed to convince the Inspiration Muse I was serious.

At first it was hell. But I put something down even if it was dreck. It didn’t matter. I was putting words on paper. Every day. No matter what time it was or how I felt.

I figured that if Stephen King (my inspiration god) can write while in serious pain, I sure as heck could write even in serious cranky.

I also got a calendar that had big blocks for each day just for my writing. And at the end of each session, I put a big smiley face in the square for the day to show that I had done my words. I had written that day. (Positive reinforcement is a wonderful treat for a skittish Inspiration Muse.)

And guess what? It worked.

Pretty soon I was getting a lot more than 500 words per session. Each time it came easier and easier. And I discovered that even when I was completely beat and hadn’t seen a smidgen of Inspiration anywhere in the neighborhood (let alone my writing space), she sure as heck showed up a few minutes after I got started.

Did I use a few other tricks to make this work? Of course.

But if you write every day no matter what, Inspiration will show up and keep showing up as long as you continue.

In the end, writers write. Every day.

The only question is, do you really want to be a writer?

Maybe it’s the expectations we put on ourselves as writers that turns the Muse shy. The last thing your really want to do is to power through and force the Muse to show up. She’ll just her run and hide.

After all, how well would even Vladimir Horowitz do if he was expected to perform unexpectedly at Carnegie Hall and hadn’t even had a chance to do his warm-up scales? And I suspect I don’t have to remind you of the times when your partner wanted to jump into bed and you were still thinking about the commute home or something equally romantic.

When playing the piano or having really good sex, you generally don’t want to get right down to business. A few scales or a little foreplay is definitely required.

One way to warm up and get the words flowing is to explain (on paper) what the story or scene is about. Unless you’re one of those writers who likes to write by dictating, don’t do this (or any writing warmup) verbally. DO IT ON PAPER. It gets your hand moving. It gets you WRITING!

Start by writing something like, “So the idea originally was to do a story about ______” and then go on and explain the story on paper as if you’re writing to a friend or your agent what the whole thing is about.

You can also do this for scenes. Explain what is supposed to happen in this scene. Who’s in it? Why is it needed? What’s the point of the scene? How is it supposed to resolve? What are the ramifications of this scene? How does it affect each of your characters (the ones in the scene, as well as the ones who don’t make an appearance)?

Simply put, explain what is supposed to happen to who, and why. Write it as if you’re trying to explain it to someone like an agent. After all, you ARE trying to explain it — to yourself!

On paper.

As you work, bits of dialogue will make an appearance, you’ll think of an action one of the characters should take, and then it will all start to flow and you will gradually seduce the Muse into returning.

Think of it as scales. Or foreplay.