When the Words Don't Come
- Blake Rice
- Dec 20, 2014
- 2 min read
As a writer, there are times when you feel the most inspired. For some it is in a nice cozy chair at home with some tea, for others it's out exploring a mountainside, and still others find peace in the hustle and bustle of the local coffee shop. Whatever that place is for you, you know that if you go there, you're sure to feel the urge to create something.
But let's face it, sometimes we just can't be in those places that inspire us the most. Sometimes our obligations require us to leave that place--and sometimes we might not make it back to that place for days, even weeks! And then it starts, the depressed or tired feeling we get when we can't get those words out, and then when we finally get to that place that makes us feel the most inspired, we feel blocked up.
What is a writer to do in a situation like this?
Well, first thing's first, don't work yourself even further into that slump. None of that "oh, I jsut can't today, maybe tomorrow," poppycock. And don't you dare go off and play candy crush or see what Sally Q. is doing today on Twitter. NO! This is your writing time, the one time during the day or week or month that you get to sit down and devote time to your ideas, the little eggs nestled in your brain waiting to be hatched and grow on the paper or screen before you! Don't give that time over to your little pass-time games or the people you stalk over the internet, this time is for you. Own it!
"But what if I really can't think of anything to put down on paper?"
Then put something else down on paper; start a new side-project, or do some planning for the story you're working on now. Develop your characters, make a map, do a plot outline, design a cover. More often than not, these little techniques will get you excited to write again and suck you back in to your story. Another great way to get ideas flowing, if you have enough time and are able, do 20 minutes of cardio or exercise. I kid you not, this is what got me through a good portion of NaNoWriMo--just be careful not to get too distracted with the work out, because it can quickly become a procrastination technique.
What do you do to get your creative juices flowing when the words just don't seem to want to be written? Send it to me via the form in the "about" tab, and it might just get featured here in the blog!
Cheers!
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