This is probably not going to be new advice to anyone whose ever read an author’s blog before, but having just experienced it for myself, I figured I’d reiterate it. Now and again, you have to refuel your creative engines.
Lately, far from being in a writing slump, I’ve actually been doing a fair amount of writing. I’ve entered short story contests and taken a writing course online. But everything I’ve produced has felt a little… uninspired. And I couldn’t really put my finger on what could be causing that. Until this past week.
Since the pandemic started, I’ve found myself in a terrible reading slump. I watched Tiger King. And every new Netflix true crime documentary. I established, abandoned, and recolonized an Animal Crossing island. I listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts while playing Candy Crush knockoffs on my phone. But in 18 months, I’d only read a handful of books.
And then a heat wave washed across my little Midwest town. 99 degrees with 60% humidity. And I don’t have air conditioning. I didn’t sleep much that week. When the heat finally broke and we had a cool day, I vowed to just relax at home. I wasn’t going to get dressed. I was going to sleep as much as I wanted. And maybe I would finish that book I’d picked up when I couldn’t sleep earlier in the week.
By the end of the weekend, I had finished that first book, started and completed a second, and was halfway through a third. The following weekend I read 700 pages of Victor Hugo and half of an Agatha Christie mystery. It was like I was a whole new person. And what’s more, ideas started bouncing around in my head. I got the itch to work on an abandoned horror story. And here I am, back on my neglected blog.
What changed? Well, I put some fuel back in my tank. I’d been running on fumes for so long I’d forgotten how it felt to have a full tank.
It’s so easy to get lost in the output and forget that sometimes we just have to stop and recharge. Put something back in. Now, that doesn’t have to mean binge reading nineteenth century literature. Everyone’s chargers run a little differently. Like back when cell phone plugs weren’t universal. For some people, it may mean going for a walk in the park and listening to people’s conversations. For others, it might be spending an entire day doing watercolor paintings or color by number pictures. Running a D&D campaign. Playing Clue with your family. Flipping through a stack of National Geographic magazines. Whatever helps you get the creative juices flowing again.
So, the next time you’re feeling less than inspired, check in with yourself and make sure you haven’t run out of fuel. Because, based on my experience, it makes a world of difference.
Stay safe!
