Ever been blocked?
Sat staring at a screen, wishing for inspiration?
And then gotten frustrated when it never seemed to arrive?
If you have, you are definitely not the only one. When I started this post, I was planning on making it about something practical, like tools for keyword research, but then I realized that A) there are already a million, very well written blogs on this topic and B) the creative process is something that can be kickstarted at any moment; maybe one of these strategies / ideas / ramblings could be a catalyst.
So, if you’re stuck in a creative rut and don’t know what to write about, let me give you 5 strategies for coming up with new content ideas.
Read - but strategically.
When you can’t seem to find your own voice, try listening to someone else’s. It doesn’t have to be a book, in fact, if you’re on a deadline, sometimes the worst thing you can read is a book. Why? Because you’ll get stuck reading it and justify it as a reasonable step in the creative process until it becomes too late to procrastinate and you have to just throw something together.
Need some ideas about what to read instead? Why not try::
Really old magazines
A random page from that college textbook you still have
A blog from a totally different side of the internet (so, for me, it would be something like a blog about crafting or maybe foreign exchange trading)
Your own previous work (pick a confidence booster)
A newspaper article from a small town on the other side of the world (how about this?: https://www.croatiaweek.com/zadar-wine-festival-2019-to-be-held-in-april/)
Or anything, really.
A caveat: don’t spend hours searching for the perfect piece of content either. The above is just an example - the point is to get your brain out of the rut and thinking about something totally different. With an entirely different perspective, it’s possible to create a story or find an angle that you didn’t previously see. Setting a timer can be helpful.
Go for a run
But don’t just put your music on or listen to a podcast (not saying you shouldn’t do these things, but there’s a point to this run). Run with a purpose - to return with a clear plan of how you’re going to write, plus a healthy dose of endorphins.
If you’re writing non-fiction, for marketing projects or other corporate-style pieces, running can be particularly effective if done correctly. Here’s how: when you’re working on a project and you’ve got something that’s blocking you, write it down before you go to sleep. If you’re short on time and need to do it same-day, skip these steps. Be as specific as possible. Go to sleep.
Wake up, read your notes, drink a glass of water and go run. Or bike. Or swim. Something that requires your cardiovascular output and your heart rate to increase.
Now visualize what the complete version of your project will look like. Write your closing paragraph. Can’t find it? Write ANY paragraph in your mind, keep going until something makes sense and then go home.
Write it down, quickly.
Then follow your standard routine and get back to it. I don’t want to make any promises, but this method has helped me through a few rough creative patches and it might just work for you as well.
And if you’re writing non-fiction? Use your surroundings to create stories and to act as inspiration. Try to imagine the craziest, silliest, or least likely story behind that pharmacy, or the girl with her dog, or the police officer sitting in his patrol car. Or follow the same method as prescribed for non-fiction and see if that gets you past it.
The point is to refresh your brain and give you a strong dose of dopamine.
Go through your old texts / emails / blog posts
Try to find something where your voice is most genuine. Sometimes when finding the words is hard, finding the tone can be easier. Once you have a tone, you can at least start to build an outline and a direction.
If your voice is hiding, sometimes it just needs a reminder that it’s safe to come out. Seeing other things that you’ve written that normally remain quietly in the background can be both gratifying and centering. Or, depending on the topic, they can take you back to a certain time or feeling.
Bringing the past into the future isn’t generally advisable, but it can be a good way to get that little bit of inspo necessary to get going.
Watch foreign films
But with the subtitles left off. Listen to the words and look for their emotions. Create a backstory based only on what you see and your spectrum of experience. Feel the story through the character’s emotions and use those feelings to shape the direction of your work.
This may not be so effective for those in the non-fiction or technical writing side of things as it may just serve as a gateway to procrastination. But if you’ve got the time, a little break from something heavy into something beautiful could be just the reset that a tired brain needs.
Leave the _______
Office, city, state, country.
The more stuck you are, the further you should go (in my opinion); within reason of course. When you’re extremely blocked, sitting still will only encourage your mind to do the same. Getting out of your normal surroundings forces you to pay attention. To be a little more aware of yourself and what is happening around you. When you’ve got a feedback loop, sometimes that’s exactly what you need - a trigger, something else to pay attention to, in order to break out of the loop. Traveling can be that trigger.
I know it’s not always practical or even possible to leave the country or state on a whim, but when it is, such an opportunity should always be taken. This is because it’s one of the most effective ways to give your brain more options, more ideas, and more space and connections to store them between.
Experiences make for great stories. They lead to analogies that resonate. And the ability to empathize and see from another’s perspective. And if you’re writing the novel of your lifetime, your master’s thesis, or anything else that has taken a part of your soul along the way, sometimes a little time on an airplane is exactly what you need to put it back.
A day’s reflections
These are the things that I can recommend because I’ve tried them and found luck in them. Inspiration comes from the strangest of places sometimes, so trying new things is really the only way to find what works for you.
When I started writing this, I had a block.
I chose to run.
So I ran. For 10 miles.
And now I can calmly write this and see that on the other side of every block there is lucidity. That clear understanding of what you need to do and how to do it.
If you’re reading this trying to find your own clarity, try something on this list. At the very minimum, you’ll feel refreshed. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find the key to your own writing freedom along the way.