Getting Back on the Writing Horse ~ Whatever Works

I think most people who aspire to write hit those dead periods when the inspiration to create is nonexistent. (Have you noticed how long it has been since my last blog post?) So many things can squelch the urge to write--an unkind critique, family issues, work problems, general busy-ness, absence of the muse; you name it, we've all blamed one or all of these things.

More important than what causes us to stop writing is what it takes to get us going again. Serious writers need to keep going, and I have to remind myself - a lot - that it is easier than I think. The way to start writing after a dry spell (do I hear "Sahara?") is just that: to start writing. I pick up the laptop, carry it away from the phone line (which is how I still connect to the Internet) and go into a quiet room where there is not one shred of committee correspondence, not a single bit of material waiting to be written up for the historical society, no photos to scan, no calendar, no anything. I face a blank wall and start typing letters onto the screen. Despite my absolute conviction that it will do no good, that my brain is truly empty, the letters turn into words, words string themselves into sentences and sentences clump into paragraphs, starting to look like--something. Amazing. If I'm really lucky I'll see a word or a turn of phrase and think, "Hey--that's not half bad!" And then I'm off. An hour or two fly by, and I wonder where they went and why I have been moping around stewing instead of sitting down and doing. For me, that works.

Recently a friend, who had been bemoaning the fact that she hadn't been producing any new poetry, told me what worked for her. Another woman had made a remark--intended as a compliment--that got under my friend's skin. It irritated and burned and festered until she sat down and wrote about it, cranking out one fine poem. That was a solution for her.

I don't spend hours contemplating these things - that would be frittering away too much valuable time - but sometimes it's worth a few minutes to address the question of how to boot ourselves into writing mode again.

Well, looky here. A few paragraphs adorn my screen--not gems, but something, better than nothing. Thanks for bearing with me. If you have a favorite method of jump-starting your writing, please share it in a comment below.