Writing Wednesday: Getting in the Mood to Write

So, you want to write. Or you need to write. No matter why you are supposed to be writing, sometimes it can be hard to get in the mood to write a successful post or chapter. I struggle with this a lot. Like, a lot. Here are 5 ways to get in the mood to write whatever.

1. Set up a place to write! Mine are makeshift these days- the living room, the kitchen table, my bed- whatever, but I have a lot of stuff that I carry around including 7 notebooks, a sketchbook, binders, research books, a map with pins, and a scrapbook with a bunch of pins.
2. Get comfy.  
3. Turn on music! It can help to have a playlist of music where the lyrics reflect conflict in your story. My sister and I (we both are writers) have a playlist that every song on it aligns with the story in our main books. It works really well, but sometimes I just turn on Pandora.
4. Pinterest is wonderful. Create a board where you can look at pictures of people that look like your characters. Kissing, fighting, selfies- whatever. It all helps get in the mood.
5. Block out other distractions. This probably should come earlier in the list, but it is so important! Don't have social media or email up while you work. I find it  helpful to use an iPad because I can have Pandora going and my work docs up.