Zen…

Have you ever wanted to write but you just don’t have the vibes? No inspiration, not a clue on what to write about. You pick up a pen then drop it on your journal or open your word doc and stare at it for hours with no single idea? It’s not that we’ve stopped becoming writers or that we can’t get unstuck from the block, it’s merely because we haven’t explored other things.

Reading: it may sound cliche but reading books especially the ones related to your genre will open up your mind. Or you could simply pick up a book from an author you admire and study it. After reading or even while at it, your own ideas will get clearer.

Read biography or memoirs: this is another tip that works like magic. When you read real life stories of people, you get to feel a certain connection of their experience with your experience, thereby refining your creativity in writing. A sense of direction with an idea.

Always ask what if: Most people who act drama will agree to this. If there’s no clue, no inspiration at all, how about you ask yourself “what if?” What if my beloved sister died during childbirth? What if my bestie was murdered by a relative of hers we never suspected? What if… It will make you focus on the sensory details and actually write from a personal space. Hence creating something out of nothing.

Collect words, ideas, expressions: this is probably the easiest. It works fast. Walk into a coffee shop and listen to two people having a discussion. Or get into a discussion about a sensitive topic with a friend, it might spark an idea. Eavesdropping really helps! You will definitely pick up a dialogue that you can use to expand a story.

Think outside the box: one of the most important part of writing is thinking. How about writing something different from what you know? You might want to study that topic, research it first, talk to people about it, know their perspective on it, then write yours. You will be surprised. Writing is also about creating and recreating.

In conclusion, allow yourself to feel something. To understand your story, always focus on the sensory details of a particular idea. How it makes you feel. Does it anger you? Does it evoke any kind of emotion? Then expand on that.

Don’t write to impress your readers with fine words, write to evoke emotions your readers will not easily shake off.