As an English major and a writer for two different online publications, I understand more than most that every once in a while, your good idea well is drier than a desert. Here’s how I get past it (kind of):
1. Put all distractions away, and grab a piping hot cup of coffee. And sometimes a croissant.
2. Scroll through Facebook, all of the news apps, and yes — in really desperate times, even Twitter — looking for something, anything, to spark your interest and ignite a fury of words.
It also really helps me to draw mind maps of different topics to see if it could actually amount to something of substance.
3. Stare blankly at the screen.
It’s mocking and taunting and you can literally hear the incessant pestering in your head. The blank document with the stupid little blinking cursor is shaking its head at you, just impatiently waiting for you to surge it forward with a flood of furious typing.
4. Decide that all the overthinking has overwhelmed the creative area of your brain.
So you get up and go clear your head.
5. You go for a run, you eat, you do your laundry, you clean your entire house and maybe your neighbor’s house, because nothing is happening.
No inspiration is striking. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
6. Begin to very seriously contemplate the prospect of throwing in the towel and wondering whether or not the consequences of that would actually be that bad.
7. Remember that giving up is not an option because you’re an “adult” now and that attitude won’t cut it anymore.
8. Drag yourself up the stairs and all the way back to your room and slowly pull yourself up onto your chair.
9. Slowly open your computer so as not to scare any possible ideas away, and wipe the self-deprecating look off of your face, and once again down a cup of hot brain juice.
10. Decide that maybe if you just start typing what is going through you head, it might turn into something and you’ll go from there.
11. Realize you’ve just written an entire article about not being able to write an article, and smile smugly at the irony.
