Sasha is talking about mantras for inspiration and motivation at Genreality.

Here are two of my favorite quotes:

“A genuinely creative act is always motivated by generosity.” – A.H. Almaas

“Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough.” – George Washington Carver

If I read these quotes before I start working, it reminds me that if I approach my work with generosity and love, I’ll put myself in the right place. 

Generosity is a broad term. For instance, hanging onto something is not generous. It’s the miserly fear that if I discard these words, or this idea, I won’t get any more. But cutting words or scenes and discarding a weak idea in favor of a stronger one leads to better work. There is ALWAYS more. More ideas, more words, more scenes, more ways to solve a plot problem. There’s no need to be a miser.

Then there’s love. There isn’t anybody on the planet who always loves every minute of their job. Writers are no different. But there should be something in the core of the idea or the characters to love. When writing gets really hard, I look for something to love. If I can’t find anything I love in the scene, I write a list of some things I love and try to work in as many of them as I can. There’s a lovely verse in the Bible about love as faith (perfect love casts out fear), and if I’m focusing on love, I build faith in the work I’m doing instead of letting fear and doubt stall it. 

Check out Sasha’s mantras, and think about your own!