Writing About Not Knowing What to Write About
April has been a crazy month.
I went to London at the beginning of the month and spent nine days there. We had a bonus day because of a cancelled flight home. It was a mechanical issue with the plane, so I was fine with waiting until it was fixed. No sense in falling out of the sky and landing in the middle of the ocean.
London was amazing. We saw a lot of things, ate a lot of food, and walked a million miles. At some point, I may recount our adventures from the scant notes I took during the trip.
Anyway, we arrived home, and I had exactly four full days at home before driving almost five hours to Chicago for a week-long work training. I learned so much, but it was tough being away from home for that long. I was happy to return home at the end of the week.
We are now on the 19th day of April, and my daily schedule and routine are all out of whack. Trying to get back into a regular writing routine has been difficult. Whether it's side gig blog writing, fiction writing, or working on the future idea project I have, my brain feels so very removed from everything.
So what else to do except get a little meta and talking about what to do when you don't know what to write about. (Thanks, Jessica, for the idea!)
What to Do When You Feel Stuck
Write 200 Words of Shit
I wish I could remember where this idea originally came from– probably reddit or something. When I was having trouble physically getting my hands moving, I would just open a document titled "200 Words of Shit" and start typing. It didn't matter what those 200 words were, but it got my fingers moving and writing. Even if it was the same 200 words over and over, like some kind of Jack Torrence mental breakdown, it still worked. It would knock something loose in my brain and help me get back to writing.
Reread Everything
When I feel too far removed from my writing projects because of a break or life disruption, I will go back and reread whatever project I have been working on. This includes notes, outlines, and random notebook scribbles. Doing this can help bring back ideas and intentions that you had before your break in writing. It can also help build back your confidence because your writing is USUALLY better than you remember.
Read (or Watch) Something New
My therapist actually gave me this idea today during our session. As I lamented being out of sorts with my writing, she suggested reading a new genre or branching out of my reading comfort zone. I know some people like to stick to their favorite genres, but you can learn a lot by branching out to other genres.
I also like to use movies for this trick. I don't love all genres of movies, but I am a visual person, and watching a movie outside my usual interests can help inspire new scenes and descriptions for my projects.
Utilize AI for Ideas
If you need help organizing your thoughts or bouncing ideas off someone (or something), consider using an AI program. I'm not saying to ask AI to write an entire book for you, but it can help generate ideas or perform research you need for your project. As an example, if you are writing a romance and need some romance conflict ideas, ask AI. When used ETHICALLY, it can be a helpful want to clear your mind and generate ideas you can use as jumping-off points for your project.
Of course, if you have a human being (aka trusted friend or family member) that can serve this purpose, that works, too. Ha.
Borrow Inspiration From Everywhere!
There's really no new ideas anymore, so borrow inspiration from everywhere. Conversations you hear, books you read, movies and TV shows you watch, songs you listen to, etc. I wrote a short story based on an Ani DiFranco song and don't feel bad about it one bit. After all, if musical artists can sample works from others, why shouldn't writers?
Go Write Something!
Now, stop procrastinating and go write something!
