Writing When You Have No Inspiration
The blank white page and the blinking cursor mock you. Blink. Blink. Blink. You know that you should put something out today. But so far all you’ve managed to do is over sweeten your coffee and read other writers amazing work and you have convinced yourself that you have nothing to say that anyone needs or wants to hear.
Here are 5 steps to re-center yourself and get back to the flow.
- Step away from the keyboard
Nothing magical is going to happen as this point. You are frustrated and you need to simply step away from what you want to do and clear you mind. This is best done by doing a mindless task. If you were to take a walk, all you would do is think more about how you have nothing to write as you walk. Instead, do a load of laundry, watch a movie that’s been sitting your Netflix watchlist or call a friend and ask them what they’ve been up to today.
2. Leave the house
Those errands you were going to do after you posted today’s blog or wrote that chapter? Go out and do them now. Grocery run, the pharmacy, the oil change you are 3 months overdue on. Hop in the car with a purpose. Turn up the music and sing along. You are disengaging your writing brain and allowing information to freely flow into you without even trying.
3. Visit the past
As writers we are always taught to write what we know. The closer we are to the subject matter, the more authentic the readers experience will be. Sit down with old family photo albums and flip your way through memories. The laughter, tears, the joy and pain, think about some of the more special photos and the feelings they bring out in you. Writers are artists and art is born from emotion. Take an hour or so to remember some things that you may have forgotten. Seeds of emotion and thought can be planted in a writers mind and begin to grow.
4. Hot shower, long nap
For some writers this is easier than for others. But it might work for you! Take a long hot shower to relax your muscles and ease your anxiety then crawl under the sheets and drift off to dreamland. Set your alarm for 90 minutes. There is a lot of information on the web about how long you should nap. And 90 minutes is the recognized amount of time by the American Psychological Association to boost creativity ( https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/07-08/naps).
5. Pour a glass of Hemingway
We know that one of America’s greatest authors, Ernest Hemingway, was fond of his cocktails. But we also know that he respected his craft and refrained from imbibing while writing. Should you be so inclined to simply reduce stress and anxiety over you immediate block, pour a glass of your preferred spirit or wine, kick back and make a nice dinner and call it a day. That blank white page and cursor can wait until tomorrow.
And by not fearing you writer’s block and simply walking away from it, you will find tomorrow that you have conquered it’s cursory, blinking mockery as you command the cursor to speedily flow from page to page.
