The importance of resetting your mind when you're stuck

Hey folks!


I survived the mouth hygienist and my teeth look all fancy now. I did however bleed like someone who was stabbed... Aaaand of course they told me to floss every day. I'M TRYING! They recommended me some tools and I actually bought them. A few different kinds of sticks and pokey-thingies and brushes to clean my teeth.

Anyway. I guess that's enough about my teeth.

Today's post (as you can see from the title) will be about inspiration and ways to get un-stuck in your writing project. Let's start with inspiration itself. There are lots of people who will go around and ask authors the age-old question 'Where do you get your ideas??'.

This question is both easy and very difficult to answer. As a lot of authors have said before me 'I get my ideas everywhere!'.

But this is of course quite vague. 'Everywhere' is not a place you can go to in order to get your ideas.

So what are you supposed to do?

I think there are really only three secrets to getting fresh ideas. They all have to do with getting out of your OWN head and into someone else's. Or just out of your own head.

-read a lot
-go outside and meet people (that favourite of mothers' which is almost always ignored)
-think a lot

These are my personal favourites.

Why? Or: Why is it important to get out of your own head? It's simple. Your brain needs to reset. If you've been working very closely on something for a long time you'll eventually become biased (and usually against it). Ideas that seemed fresh and AMAZING the first time around are suddenly stale and boring and your brain keeps telling you 'no one wants to read this kind of stuff'. And anyway. You don't know what to write/edit any more either way.

When this happens this is usually a cue that your brain wants some rest. It's a good opportunity to take a break and do something else: gaming/reading/watching TV.

Will you feel guilty? Perhaps.
Will you be angry at yourself for not working on your own project? Probably.

But will it help you reset your mind and in the long run give you more and better ideas? Also yes.

If you don't have any hobbies -
If you know nothing about the world -
If you don't know PEOPLE -
If you have no experience -

What are you even going to write about? So take a break when necessary! Breaks are just as important as 'actual work'. No matter how much you love something, you can't do it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And you probably don't want to either.

Does this seem like a no-brainer? It is. But still a lot of people become workaholics when they truly care about a project, and they needed to be reminded every once in a while that it's ok to rest. You don't have to wear yourself out. You don't have to throw all of your splendid ideas at one project. It's fine if you wait until later with some of them.

WriteBot out.

PS: This particular piece of advice is valid not only for writers but ALL professions. If you're stuck, take a break. The world will look fresh and new pathways will open up for your tomorrow.

Enjoy your night/day!