“I work crossword puzzles to get the brain revved up.”—Larry L. King

What stimulates your creativity? What triggers your mind to connect all those random ideas that have been cluttering up your mental space and turn them into readable prose? When you run headlong into writer’s block, what do you use to explode it into a million little pieces?
For me, it’s movement—any kind of physical activity that removes me from the keyboard and office. I’ll start running the sweeper or mowing the grass, unroll my yoga mat and do some asanas, even go for a walk, and like a dam bursting, all those ideas flood my brain.
Maybe it’s the blood flow to my brain or maybe it’s the psychological impact of moving away from that which is frustrating me but inevitably, I find my creativity is most stimulated when I’m not in my work environment.
What about you? What methods do you use that feed your spirit, unlock the handcuffs on your imagination or blow that block into oblivion?
Post your suggestions here.

“All you need is a room without any particular interruptions.” —John Dos Passos.

The Beatles may have sung that all we need is love but what a writer needs (along with time, inspiration and ability) is space—somewhere to flip open the laptop, pull out the notebook and pen, turn on the tape recorder.
Virginia Woolf said we need a room of one’s own, and although she was talking about the needs of women fiction writers, I believe that all of us—men and women, those who write poetry and non-fiction as well as novelists and short story writers—need someplace where we can work in peace and quiet.
Some writers have a room set aside that is sacrosanct—no one else can use that room except the writer. Others have to cobble together a space, stealing square inches from the diningroom table, their side of the bed, the basement, attic or area over the garage, to do their work.
And still others hit the road to do their work, writing in cafes and book stores, on park benches and in crowded airports.
The important thing isn’t where you write but that you find a place to write.
What about you? Do you have a “writing room?” if so, where is it? If not, why not? You deserve it!

“A writer’s brain is like a magician’s hat. If you’re going to get anything out of it, you have to put something in first.”—Louis L’Amour

Athletes know the value of nutrition. If they want to excel in their chosen sport, they’ve got to feed their body what it needs to perform.
The same is true of writers. Only in our case, it’s our minds we need to feed.
If we want our inspirational muscles to be ready for action, we’ve got to feed them a balanced diet (so to speak) with “healthy” components.
Start with Vitamin R (for reading), choosing magazines, books and newspapers that explore topics unfamiliar to you or written in different style that what you’ve grown accustomed to. Or go back to childhood and read one of your favorites. (Nothing like an entrée of Green Eggs and Ham to nourish your creativity!)
Vitamin S (for seeing) and Vitamin H (for hearing) can be found together. Spend a day among a crowd of strangers, listening and watching their interactions.
These are just a few of the necessary components for a healthy creative system. What others do you incorporate on a regular basis?

“When we see the sole purpose of our work as the pursuit of affluence, we have lost track of...what is meaningful work..." Anne Wilson Schaef

For many of us, writing is not just our vocation but our avocation as well. It’s how we make our living.

And there’s no denying that the last few months have been a little on the challenging side when it comes to getting that assignment or contract or even, after the process is completed, getting our check. Everything revolves around money: Will we get the work? Will the rate be decent? Will we get paid on time? And with all these financial concerns, the reason why we are writers can get lost.

Yes, of course we have to earn a living and of course we need to adopt a businesslike approach to our chosen career. At the same time, however, we need to make sure that we don’t destroy the very gift that we depend upon for this income.

We need to guard against letting our frustration with the business side of the industry affect our love for and of writing.

Take some time each week to write just for you, doing what you most love (poetry, fiction, essays) whether or not it has income potential. Remind yourself of why you write (instead of being an accountant or doctor or ditch-digger).

Find the holy joy in the act of creation and you will find your creative spirit nourished and restored.