Sometimes I get stuck in a creative rut. The muse won’t show, and I know if I keep waiting it’s just going to get worse. If you don’t believe your creativity is a muscle, that you need to work it constantly to keep it tuned, then try waiting a few weeks, or months for the muse to show up. My writing definitely suffers when I’ve done that. To avoid becoming slave to the muse and her inspirational whims, here are a few things I do to kickstart those creative juices:

1. Writing Exercises

I could (and probably should) devote an entire post (or two) to writing exercises. These are my first go-to when I just can’t find the words for whatever I’m working on, or when I feel like my writing has become too forced and “lackluster”. A couple of my favorites are timed writing (5-15 minutes is usually enough for me) on a prompt I’ve randomly plucked from Pinterest and writing to a playlist (crank up those tunes and write a story to match!)

2. Pick a New Medium

I’m a writer, so when I say I move to another medium I put down my pen (or step away from the keyboard) and try something visual. I find drawing really relaxing – it lets me focus on the details of something without stressing over them because I don’t share the final product with anyone (unlike my writing). When I’m feeling a little more adventurous, I’ll pull out my paints and see what happens. The important thing for me is to work on something that doesn’t have pressure on the end result (i.e. I’m not sharing or selling my artwork, so I can do whatever I darn well want to with it.)

3. Move!

Exercise is supposed to support creativity, I assume because of brain activity (i’ll look into that). I like to dance, walk the pup, and unwind with Pilates when I’m stuck in my creative writing. It takes the pressure off of being creative. Pilates in particular helps me refocus my energy on the current moment, which helps me to focus my attention when I’m writing.

4. Clean

There’s something mind numbing about cleaning that really helps jumpstart creative ideas for me. It could be because my thoughts are free to wander because I switch to autopilot when I clean, or it could be similar to Pilates in that I focus on one task and that translates to my writing. Maybe it’s both!

5. New Media

Devour pop culture. Read. Watch movies, TV shows, YouTube Videos. Find quality content and learn from it. If you walk out of a movie theater or end a book feeling like you can take on the world, it’s moved you. How can you use that, or copy it, in your own work? I ride the inspiration of these feelings with free writes as often as I can. I also go back to old media, and try and emulate what I like about a book or show that keeps drawing me back to it. Confession: I reread Harry Potter (the entire series) every summer. EVERY SUMMER. I know the books so well I can probably quote entire paragraphs. But in doing this, I see something new every time. Connections, hidden meanings, writing structure, pacing – I pick up on new tricks to use in my own work each time I read through my well-worn books.

6. Nap

Even though I listed this one last, it is my absolute favorite activity for kickstarting my creativity. Napping (or sleeping in general) wipes the slate clean, and leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to take on new tasks. If you’re like me, you get a bonus kickstart when you dream! If I’m lucky enough to remember what I dreamt about, I’ll write down as much as I can remember as fast as I can. Just this exercise launches me back into “writing mode” but sometimes I get an added bonus in new story ideas

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