Feeling uninspired is human, even if you’re someone who’s passionate about writing and creating. For the longest time, I thought something was wrong with me when I didn’t want to write or had no inspiration. I would work myself into a panic, trying to find ideas in the silliest things, and I would get frustrated when I couldn’t generate an article or post about something I’d written ten thousand times before.

There’s a lot of pressure in a creative profession or hobby, not to mention demand. You’re expected to share your work on social media, keep your blogs updated, and always generate new content. Not to mention you’re required to use both sides of your brain—both right and left brain—all the time!

If you’re feeling totally stuck, I’m with you. Even as someone with a full-time writing career, I find myself falling into creative ruts and getting frustrated with the monotony (and difficulty!) of writing every single day.

If any of the above resonates with you, and you feel uninspired or unsure what to write about, then this list is for you. Here are four simple tips to motivate and get you back to writing again.

1. Be open to finding and building inspiration in strange places.

Sometimes I think we get so caught up in finding ideas in the ways we always have that we forget there are alternatives. If you’ve been using, for example, the same notebook for years, it might benefit you to check out other prompt journal options to see if something else sparks your interest.

Something as simple as changing your scenery might help, too. Getting out of your house and going to a coffee shop might be a great idea. You can also find inspiration in simple things/places. (For example taking a walk with the dog and noticing the trees, sky, color of people’s shoes—anything!)

I think our society has gotten so wrapped up in traditional thinking. We believe that we have to be inspired by truly *inspirational* things, like writing prompts or other creative resources. While those are invaluable, it’s important to know that you can find inspiration anywhere!

2. Take breaks to reset your right brain.

Your right brain is in charge of your creativity. That’s why it will benefit from being reset every so often. If you feel that you’re getting stuck working on the same written piece, perhaps switch up and do something that’s left-brained.

Some examples of left-brain activities: anything math/science related, problems with logic or numbers, reasoning (word problems, riddles, puzzles). By pulling yourself out of your current writing task and doing something else, you’ll activate the other side of your brain which will get you ‘unstuck.’

3. Tap into others for brainstorming sessions and new ideas.

The buddy system will always be a great resource to tap into. You can do this in two ways: by reaching out to mentors, friends, family members, and people you trust for information. Or by reading and looking through other inspirational work to spark your own ideas.

Using your immediate network is all about conversations. When you talk to people, you’ll automatically get pulled into their thoughts and perspectives, which can help you formulate your own or get inspired just based on the things they share! People close to you are often more vulnerable and honest, too, which leads to really awesome and in-depth exploration of ideas you may never have thought of before!

Using a network outside of the people you know is also great. This can be as simple as browsing through a gallery on Instagram, or as advanced as looking through someone’s published volume of work. The most important thing with using other authors/creatives for inspiration is that you have to be careful not to plagiarize! Be sure that anything you’re absorbing is recognized as someone else’s and not anything you can emulate or copy (in any form!) in your work.

4. Accept that creativity ebbs and flows and this is okay.

Honestly, you can’t be too hard on yourself when it comes to inspiration.

People get in creative ruts sometimes. This is human! You can—and definitely will—stifle your creativity by believing that you’re the only one who’s facing Writer’s Block or feeling unmotivated to write. The sooner you embrace the perspective that people are at all different stages in their writing process and will inevitably be uninspired, the sooner you’ll be able to be patient. And forgiving, and eventually out of the rut and moving on!
 

Featured Image Credit: Element5 Digital

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