No matter if you are writing for the first time, or you are an experienced writer who has been practicing for years, we all struggle with a lack of inspiration occasionally.

This lack of inspiration can be incredibly annoying, especially if you are working against a deadline, or want to be as productive as possible.

It is easy to spiral and attempt to force inspiration or just try and write without it, both of these can lead to burnout pretty quickly. Because of running into this problem, we know how important getting inspiration can be for writers.

So, while forcing inspiration can feel like it will never work, there are methods you can try to attempt to spur it on. By trying these different methods, you can relax and let inspiration come to you naturally in a way that feels productive, rather than just trying to force it or work without it.

While all of these methods will not work for everyone, you might find a method here that you have not tried before and that could work amazingly for you.

So no matter what kind of writing you are trying to do, keep reading and you could find the perfect method for you to find inspiration!

Reading

This might seem obvious to some people, but one of the best ways to get inspiration for writing, is to read something that could inspire you, or has inspired you in the past.

You could use what you are reading as a guide, or just a way to disassociate from the headspace that is not lending you creativity and try looking from a different perspective.

When you write, you will naturally start to write in your style, but by reading something in someone else’s style, this can inspire you to look at your writing from a different angle.

This can help dislodge the part of your brain that is stopping you from getting inspired. While you could read something related to the topic you are trying to write on, you could read anything to help this work and get a fresh angle, whether this is a magazine, a comic, or just a favorite novel of yours you have not visited in a while.

Listening To Music

Music may not seem like it would work since it is hard to see the connection between listening to music, and getting inspiration for writing, but this method works for a lot of people.

This could come in the form of listening to old favorites to help you relax and reminds you of what has inspired you in the past, or you could try listening to new music, whether if this is from recommendations, or with the help of a streaming service, by listening to something new, you will again be able to get that fresh perspective.

It is common that some of your best thoughts can come to you when listening to music, so if you try this method it could be very effective!

Enjoy Your Favorite Media

This is a bit more general and relates to the previous point, but relaxing yourself into something you often do and find comforting, can often relax our memory and help inspiration flow better.

We enjoy the things we do for a reason, and if you revisit the things you enjoy from the perspective of exploring why this is, this can help you learn something about yourself, and this can be applied into our future work.

The more we know ourselves, the better we can work with ourselves!

People Watching On A Walk

If you are looking for a less introspective approach, going out and people watching is a great idea, especially if you feel like you have been cooped up.

By just looking at people we can learn a lot about them, for example, how they present themselves, how they behave, how they carry themselves.

If you watch this you can try to explore what may be informing how they present themselves and you can use this as great inspiration, especially if you are writing characters.

You want to try and detach yourself from your way of thinking and instead try and embody the people you see and pick up on realistic clues that inform behavior.

Freewriting

If you are really struggling to get anywhere, we recommend freewriting. If you have not heard of this, you essentially just start writing whatever comes into your head, whether this is things you remember, what is around you, or just how you are feeling.

By doing this you are helping get your thoughts on paper, and this can help build up the momentum needed to get back into your writing.

This can also help you explore your mindset and escape whatever headspace you are in that is blocking your inspiration!

Follow Writing Prompts

This is similar to the previous method, but is just a little more guided, all you have to do is find some prompts to get you writing online or from another source, and just try them out.

While some people will share their writing online, you do not have to and you can just do this as an exercise to help let inspiration flow.

You could also try a writing prompt that is similar to what you want to write, but just a bit more guided. This guidance can end up helping you massively and might be the push you need to get inspired.

Walk Away

While you might hear this recommendation and think it is counterintuitive, sometimes it is just what you need to do. If you have been trying everything, and just nothing is working, sometimes you just need to walk away.

This can help you come up with a fresh perspective, but more importantly, it gives you the rest you probably need. Sometimes you might need to just stop what you are doing and do something completely different.

This can help you realize what you may be doing wrong, or what could be blocking inspiration, and this could be all you need to move on!