by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Between deadlines, edits and rejections it’s easy to fall out of love with our writing. It can get so bad that we begin to dread sitting down at the keyboard.

When that happens to me my mind begins to reprioritize my life. I can suddenly find a million things more important than putting my rear end in the chair and pounding out words. When I begin arguing with myself, stating that clean baseboards are more important than word count goals, I know I’m in trouble.

Today, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I want to share some tips that help me fall back in love with writing.

Tips to Rekindle the Romance of #Writing

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1. Realize that love is a choice—not an emotion. I know that sounds more like marriage counseling than advice for writers, but truth is truth. I’ve made a commitment to what it means to be a writer, and the means not quitting when times get bad.

2. Stop the negative talk. The more you bad-mouth writing—even if it’s just in your mind—the more you’ll begin to believe what you’re hearing. This is an important step in returning to that bloom of first love. Don’t taper off the negativity, just stop . . .  immediately!

3. Make a list of all the things that made you fall in love in the first place. There was a reason you answered the siren call of words. It’s up to you to remember it and then—write it down.

4. Set the mood. Just like a marriage is better with an occasional candle-lit dinner, so writers need a little romancing. Choose someplace you love and write there. It could be a coffee shop, or a cozy chair by the fireplace at home. Then add a little mood music. Even if you don’t usually write to music, sometimes the change can be just the spark to rekindle the love.

5. Dress it up—your writing space that is. This may mean sprucing up your office, investing in a new writing program (Scrivener anyone?) or it might just be a new bit of wall art. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just make sure it’s writing related.

6. Add a little mystery. Start your writing time with a writing prompt. If you’ve never used one before, you’re in for a treat. It’s something that gets your creativity flowing. You can type writing prompts into a search engine on the Internet and get thousands of them.

7. Rekindle the romance. Revisit the things you love to write. If you’re working on book revisions, take time to write a poem, or short story, or devotion. Or maybe just spend some time with old-fashioned pen and paper, journaling.

These are the things I do when I need to fall back in love with the written word. What tips do you have. Be sure to share them in the comments section below.

Edie Melson—author, blogger, speaker—has written numerous books, including her most recent fiction – Alone, and nonfiction – While My Child is Away. She’s also the military family blogger at Guideposts.org. Her popular blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and a member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She’s the the Social Media Director for Southern Writers Magazine, Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy, and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com.