6 More Tips for Reigniting Passion for a Stale Project

By georgelthomas on 23 Sep 2025 • ( 0 )

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today, I’m sharing some more tips for reviving an old or abandoned project.

As I discussed in last week’s post, sometimes we can fall out of love with a project. Sometimes, we feel as if the creative fire that once fuelled the words has become a pile of smouldering ashes. But it needn’t necessarily be that way.

If your story has gone stale, you’re not alone. And you’re not stuck.

Refinding passion for an old project is absolutely possible. With that in mind, here are:

6 More Tips for Reigniting Passion for a Stale Project

1. Allow Yourself to Play Again
The anxiety of “getting it right” can smother creativity. Let yourself experiment and make mistakes without focusing on making every line perfect.

What if your character made the opposite choice?
What if the genre twisted halfway through?
What if you wrote one scene purely for fun?

Writing is serious work, yes—but it’s also play. Let it feel like play again.

2. Remember: You’re Allowed to Rewrite
Sometimes, the version of the story in your head has evolved, and what’s on the page no longer fits. That’s okay. Your words aren’t chiselled in stone. Rewriting isn’t failure—it’s discovery. Allow the project to grow with you.

3. Break It Down Into Bite-Sized Pieces
One of the easiest ways to get overwhelmed is to stare at the entirety of your project and feel daunted by its scale. A huge goal can be paralysing.

Break your project into manageable tasks. What’s one little thing you can accomplish today to move forward? Maybe it’soutlining a single paragraph or emailing someone for advice. Accomplishing even the smallest task creates momentum.

I like to think of projects as jigsaw puzzles. It can be helpful to focus on completing one little piece at a time. Eventually, the complete picture will come together.

4. Seek a Fresh Perspective
Sometimes, the best cure for stale energy is introducing someone else’s input. Share your project with a trusted friend, mentor, or colleague. They might see possibilities you’ve overlooked or offer encouragement you didn’t know you needed. Someone else’s enthusiasm for your work can be incredibly contagious.

5. Change Your Environment
Where we work on something can have a surprising impact on our creativity and enthusiasm. If you’ve been sipping lukewarm coffee on the same kitchen chair while staring at the same wall for days on end, it’s no wonder the project feels stagnant.

Try mixing things up! Head to a café, visit the library or move things around in your current workspace. A change of scenery, along with fresh lighting or even better snacks, can provide much-needed inspiration.

6. Reward Yourself Along the Way
Imagine this scenario. You sit down, chip away at a part of your project, and immediately treat yourself to something indulgent. An episode of your favourite series, a cheeky slice of cake, or even just a hot bath.

Reward systems work! By creating positive associations with work sessions, you’re subconsciously teaching your brain to enjoy working on the project again.

The critical thing here is to choose rewards that genuinely feel fulfilling. Whatever gives you comfort or happiness is a fair game.

Remember that it’s easier to give up on something than to work at it, to improve it and to finish it. Even when you’reuninspired or your creativity has gone cold, keep going—keep trying because the hard work is what’s important. It’s what makes you better.

You won’t ever improve if you keep jamming your work away in a drawer where nobody will ever see it.

Thank you, as ever, for stopping by!

Until next time,

George