Where to Go When Inspiration Leaves

Whenever fellow writers are complaining about troubles with their work, they call out "the muses have forsaken me! Calliope, you vixen," and they say that "inspiration just up and left." What they don't realize is that inspiration is still a creation of the human mind and is personal. It is the world's affect on the thought process, and it is inside of every person. So that must mean writer's block is not the absence of inspiration, but the restraint of access to inspiration.

Writer's block is the black hole that waits in the darkest recess of a mind for any chance to trip an unwary writer. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of alleged cures, but the problem persists.

Identify the problem:

Writer's block isn't some disease a person can catch or a fungus that grows, but rather a piece of any rational person. It is a period between working through complex issues in which a person is not sure what is right or wrong. As such, no clear ideas come out, and no clear writing. The only way to go on with writing is to get out of the hole, but how?

1. Call for help

Although Lassie probably won't come running to hear the muffled cries, there are plenty of other people to reach out to. Read other people's works, find some of your own unfinished prose or even just ask anyone for an interesting story. To write about something, you have to have some experience of it, whether true or fictitious. If you can't write, then find something outside of yourself to focus on.

One of my favorite things to do on a long, lonely weekend is travel to a nearby flea market. Just by walking around and examining objects, vendors will begin telling stories about how they came to acquire each piece. I've gotten the "ex-boyfriend with a heroine addiction" jewelry stories and some pretty nice jewelry. Open markets have such an eclectic crowd so ready to talk instead of sitting around silently all day.

Another method is to look at pictures or find writing prompts online. Although I normally don't benefit much from either, I know many writers who hold true to the methods. Flickr and other sites are full of pictures just waiting for a few extra views. No matter what you do, interact with someone or something in some way (what clarity) to help you crawl over the edge of your imprisonment.

2. Build a ladder

Sometimes, even in a dark hole of apparent nothingness, a person can stumble upon a few supplies. Separately they might seem useless, but through some ingenuity you can have a nice ladder in no time. This is my preferred method.

When I can't write, I sit at my computer, get angry and start typing whatever comes to my mind. Of course I delete a good portion, but I leave a few little pieces that might be salvageable in the future. Soon I have a pile of okay work and a lot of erased thoughts, but I've begun a few different thought processes that can continue to grow in my mind.

There is always something around you, in some manner. You can use surroundings to inspire and escape, even if it takes a while to find anything great. Think of all the catchy phrases: diamond in the rough, needle in a haystack or candle in the sun. If you are looking for something, even if it is buried and covered by a mass of other useless objects, you can eventually find what you are looking for.

So scrounge on the floor until you feel a hammer, wood and nails. Build a nice ladder and climb out.

3. Look at the walls

At first, this sounds very counterproductive. How could staring at a blank, white surface help get over a lack of ideas? We'll start with the hole.

You are surrounded on all sides by this murky dark. Looking more closely, roots and rocks peak out. You can pull out small pieces of debris, and some thin trails of vines are hanging down. They may be dangerous, or they may not even support your weight, but you're in no position to refuse any attempt. Either you can climb out just by noticing the little things, or you made the first attempt.

In real life, you stare at a white wall. Over time, you realize that it isn't just a wall. Hundreds of hands have touched it millions of times. It is the combination of tree and plaster and iron and paint. Just beyond it is the kitchen where your dog is sleeping on the table, even though you ask him not to. Dog's don't know English well enough. Maybe you can remember when you first moved in, and the walls were that awful teal color. Within days, your wife made you go to the tool store to buy all the egg shell white paint you could find.

And guess what? Even a white wall has stories. Even a plain, blank, flat and unassuming surface can lead to a book of short stories.

I don't claim to have a cure for writer's block, because it isn't something to be cured. Instead, it is just goes into remission and hides somewhere in the mind. Every writer will get trapped now and then, but it is the dedicated writer that will plow through with determination.