There are times when writing is just not happening. There are no ideas to be had, no content you are passionate about in the moment, nothing to be said. You pull up your document and put your fingers to the keyboard and...nothing. Every word you put down just doesn't seem to flow, or doesn't make sense, or seems completely irrelevant. So you hit that backspace button until all that is left is an empty page, and you stare at it for another half hour, and you close it in frustration and go eat a bowl of cereal and watch YouTube videos of other people's inspiration to feel bad about yourself.

Or is that just me?

We all go through it, those periods of writer's block, and honestly? There are a thousand articles written telling you how to get past it and find your focus again, but sometimes, it just isn't happening. You want to write, you're snuggled up in bed with your laptop and background music, and you just can't. You try the steps, you read the articles, and it's just a waste of time because no matter what you do, the words aren't getting any clearer and your thoughts aren't translating the way you want them to. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's irritating, especially when you know there are people waiting on you to get something down and published.

I won't lie, these times have hit me, and that's usually when I put up an article that has no words at all, like the one about my favorite vines. If you see an article of mine that is mainly videos or lists of some related topic, that's because there is no inspiration. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

It's okay, because at some point, that urge to write is going to come back. For the past month, I haven't wanted to write anything, but three days ago an idea for a personal project I'm working on finally came into my head as I was falling asleep (like most good ideas do) and the next day after work, I wrote a good page and a half. It doesn't sound like much, I know, but when you're a writer that hasn't been able to write for a long period of time, any amount of writing feels so good. I imagine it feels like the rush sports players get when they score a point in their respective games. A good few hours of writing can feel as good to me as spending time cuddling dogs.

So if you're having trouble, don't beat yourself up about it. Pull up another window and watch your favorite YouTube videos or Netflix shows. Close down the document instead of staring at it when you know it's pointless. It won't be too terribly long before the itch comes in at the back of your head again, and you suddenly know what it is you want to say. Don't force it; your best work comes completely naturally.