Raise your hand if you've never suffered from "writer's block." No one? Good. People often say that the block is just a fear of creating something bad. No, I genuinely did not have any ideas for anything, yet here are the ways I got out of that headspace.
1. Get off the Internet
In this day and age, we always have a screen in front of our faces. There's never really a moment when we're truly alone anymore. Recently, I've started to put my phone away for two hours before I go to bed, that way I can truly relax before bed. During that time, my mind drifts to unknown places where I get the idea, "that could be a story" or "I could draw that!" When those ideas come to me, I quickly write it down in the notebook I keep in my nightstand.
2. Ask "what if?"
In anxiety terms, try not to ask yourself "what if?" because that can cause panic, but, in the creative sense, ask away! I am constantly contemplating the idea of "what if" about a certain subject or the possibility of something like magic being real, so I go off of that and try to see how far I can go it into it.
3. Listen to music
Songs with lyrics are often similar to poetry, in fact, there is a form of poetry called lyrical poetry. In songs, there's a lot of imagery and metaphors that you can do whatever you want with. Also, songs by Lana Del Rey and Ed Sheeran have mini stories in them. When I listen to them, I feel inspired and try to write a story somewhat similar to it. The important thing is, not to copy the lyrics, but use it as inspiration.
4. Keep common place book and have it updated regularly.
Something I learned in a poetry class I took last semester was to keep a commonplace book. A commonplace book is a notebook where you take objects, quotes, pictures, anything you want from your environment and store it in your book. You should be able to pick it up and not be able to tell it's yours by it not having any factors that can identify you.
5. Sleep/Relax.
We stress ourselves out too much trying to get what we need to get done completed, we don't have the inspiration to do it. It's important to tell yourself it'll get done and the ideas will come to you. The important thing is the positive self-talk and the self-reassurance that you'll get done what you need to get done.
Overall, it's important to know that inspiration is in every corner. Even if these tips don't work, you'll find what works for you. Just remember to keep your eyes searching for that inspiration!
