Writing a book for publication is a real commitment of time and energy that demands your attention for weeks, months, and sometimes years. The sparks of enthusiasm that are present early in the process when your ideas are fresh and your motivation is strong show up on the page in a positive way. The challenge for many writers is to keep the momentum going at this level of creative expression until the very end.

For some, it’s about avoiding the many distractions that lead them in other directions entirely. For others, commitments to the activities of ‘everyday life’ can lead to losing touch with those early creative sparks and writing stalling as a result. One of the most important ingredients in successfully completing long-term creative projects is recharging your creative soul on a regular basis to ensure that you always have access to your original drive to keep moving forward.

So here are 7 simple ways you can recharge your creative soul to keep the momentum going when writing your book:

1. Create more time and space to dream – Do you already have time blocked in your journal regularly to dream and reflect? If not, go ahead right now and schedule it. Once you’ve done that, don’t let anything but an emergency fill that space! Dreaming is one of the most powerful ways to recharge your creative soul.

2. Take your time – Like most writers, you likely fit your writing around many other commitments, which means you need to be aware of how much time you spend on various activities. Sometimes, though, it’s crucial to release your awareness of time and allow whatever you’re doing to take as long as it needs to. Sundays are good days to break free from clock time.

3. Be spontaneous – When you have a lot of commitments, the only sensible way to meet them and keep your balance is to have a comprehensive schedule to keep track of what you need to do and when. Although this can be effective most of the time, creativity also needs spontaneity. You may need to schedule a time to give up your schedule, but letting go of all plans and opening up to spontaneity will reap immense creative rewards.

4. Disengage from current projects – everything is energy and the passion you have for any project creates an energetic connection between you and what you are working on. A healthy balance can only be maintained in the long run by disconnecting from the project from time to time. This allows you to refresh your perspective and reconnect when you’re ready with renewed enthusiasm for your next steps.

5. Spend time alone – Whether you live alone or surrounded by other people, spending quality time alone is important to all creative souls. Learning to enjoy your own company if you find it difficult to be alone is immensely valuable. It is an opportunity to explore your own world, in your own way and in your own time. Experiment with this and pay attention to what you enjoy most about alone time. Then take those principles forward and apply them to your daily life as well.

6. Treat your body – As a writer, you will no doubt spend many hours brainstorming and thinking about possibilities for your next plot twist or how to share your latest insights with your audience. Sometimes this can be detrimental to his body, which can be neglected in the creative process. So be sure to regularly treat your body in ways that work for you, such as doing yoga, going for walks, bathing by candlelight, drinking plenty of water, and eating nutritious food (okay, sometimes wine and chocolate too!) are good!)

7. Enjoy the ride – I’m sure you’ve read these words before, but have you already taken into account the actual meaning they point to? Perhaps even more important, have you taken steps to ensure that is it so enjoying your writing journey? Shifting your focus to the journey itself to enjoying each step along the way changes your perspective and everything shifts to a new place of alignment as a result. When you truly let go of the outcome and release your attachment to the end results, you will know for certain that you cannot fail as a writer, no matter what happens or not with your book(s).