The One Thing You Should Not Do When You Can't Write

You sit down at your computer, it awaits your voice, the blank page stares back seducing you to mar it with your ingenuity, the clock ticks,but -- nothing. You tell yourself that the best thing to do is sit and wait for the idea to be sparked by inspiration. You know you have it in you,but -- nothing. The morning ends and you are a mess. What are you doing wrong? All that time seemingly wasted.

Every writer faces that moment when the mind won't cooperate with the desire. The thing not to do is sit and stress on what is not happening. Instead honor that the mind needs space. I suggest you get up, walk, sweep, cook, talk to a friend, anything that will relax your mind and lighten the stress.

If I am insistent upon writing because that is the time I designated to the task, I like to allow my mind to tell me what it wants to. I might write about the weather, my best friend, what I had for dinner last night. Usually after writing and warming up for about 20 minutes my mind redirects itself to the story I want to write. The minds needs to breathe just like the rest of us.

It's that easy yet I keep hearing from writers how getting the ideas to flow is so difficult. Never fight your mind, especially your creative muse. Find what works for you. When the ideas aren't flowing, what works to get them flowing? Practice and know what is happening inside your mind. Pay attention. It will help your writing in the long run anyway.

Until next time,
keep the pen moving