Do you ever lose the desire to write?

Not sure where to begin?

Has it been to the point that you have no desire to even pick up the pen or open up the laptop?

I never thought this would happen to me but it did. I have been writing for 2 blogs, putting together and communicating with others for collaborations like PAY DAY Pay it Forward Thursdays and Stuff it ‘Storetry’ Tuesdays all on top of managing a family with 8 children.  Busy doesn’t quite cut it!

Now I’m sure you have read these pointers elsewhere before, it is the internet after all but I want to share some things that I realized this morning that helped me get out of my rut, especially when it comes to writing poetry.

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Routine:  Routine is so very important.  I used to wake up, get the kids on the bus, make my coffee and go and sit on my sofa and read a few blogs.  Then I would take a moment to write, which usually occurred during reading other posts or poetry, something would stir and the poetry would just come.  My internet at home has been limited lately so I haven’t been able to read the morning posts so I haven’t even bothered to sit and relax in the same spot.  I know that this has been a major factor for my lack of inspiration.  Reading other peoples blogs and poetry for inspiration and sitting in the same spot at around the same time will surely help me with my muse less blues!

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Music: Repeat/Replay: I also used to find my favorite song of the day and play it on repeat, kind of putting me into an inspirational trance.  If I’m on a roll and the music changes then so can my flow, thoughts, emotions and ideas that get stirred by the song. I am a huge music fan so this definitely helps me.  My music choice has been lacking in the morning because of my limited use of the inter net.   I can’t You Tube my favorite songs right now so I guess I need to ‘pay’ iTunes a little visit or replay some older songs, like I did this morning.  Voila!

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Change your Self Talk:  You are not suffering from writers block.  Your muse has not left you high and dry!  You CAN do this.  You will do this. You’ve so got this!  Self-talk is so important in our writing lives and in our day-to-day lives.  Believe for good things in your life!  Expect them.  Even if when you say it aloud it sounds like the furthest thing from your actual thoughts, say it anyway.  You have to start somewhere.  Do not accept defeat.  Make yourself believe it.

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Write Anyway:  This morning was the first time that I picked up a pen in a long while.  I wrote two poems and when I reread them I thought, this is ‘crap’!  And it was.  It was completely uninspired and forced but what came after one or two ‘silly and uninspired’ poems was the poem below.  Now whether you regard this poem as fantastic or not, is not really the point.  The point is that I did.  This poem ‘inebriated my dried out riverbed’.  If you’re stuck on a prose project, write anyway.  Write until it flows if you have to, change the topic or idea, move onto something else, grab a paper and write out a rant releasing all of your frustrations, then return and keep at it.

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Stop Being Lazy: I mean this in the most respectful of ways but really! Get out of bed when you get an inspired idea for a blog or a few lines for a poem or a story or chapter for your book.  Grab a napkin, excuse yourself and run to the washroom when out for dinner and write down your five lines.  When it comes, it comes and if you let it fade away, it will.  Especially for poetry! If it is a priority, then prioritize it!

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Muse less Blues

Where is the depth of me?

I feel dried up like a cracked riverbed

Dehydrated,

Debilitated

Longing to be inebriated by my muse

To drink away these dried up blues

To come alive with vibrant hues

Clues to find the fountain of my muse

To cure these muse less blues

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© Jennifer David (me) 2013

 Stay inspired, keep writing!  Continued success to you all.
Jennifer