What To Write When You Have Absolutely Nothing To Write About
I know why you’re here – you’re looking for prompts, aren’t you?
Much like looking for ibuprofen when you have a headache, writing prompts provide a temporary symptom relief without curing the root cause of the issue and ultimately damaging your creativity long term.
What if there was a button on your head that would stop any headache dead in its tracks. No side effects, no need to reach out for anything external. A nearly instant relief that you can use time and time again.
So, like Ibuprofen, prompts and ideas are abundant. But before I hand you one of those, how about we find the button, huh? What do you say?
WHY are you really stuck and have nothing to write?
It’s just because you’re clogged. Not like a sink, but emotionally. Okay, maybe a little bit like a sink. Let me explain.
You and I and all of us carry a perpetuo mobile internal scale that weighs priorities 24/7.
The majority of the time the scale operates perfectly fine with the information it receives and is capable to distinguish what information needs storing for later use and what information requires near instant reaction and a course shift.
Because of this internal scale you’re able to function without being in a constant state of paralysis; the majority of decisions are made almost subconsciously.
Every now and then, however, your brain stumbles upon a piece of information that simply doesn’t fit the usual mould. It’s not exactly storage material, neither something you can use right away in the form you’ve received it.
Let me give you an example. You may be happy in a relationship but somehow stumble upon your partner’s private writings and get to learn that they dream of moving across the world when they retire. If the relationship is new and wonderful but you have no idea where its going, raising the subject right away feels premature. The way you got the information also doesn’t help. So you have to sit with it, but now a very promising relationship doesn’t feel as stable as it did anymore and you’re the only one who knows that something has changed.
You could be in a very similar emotional state if you find out by accident that your colleague is paid 3 times your salary for the exact same job. Rarely, if ever, it is a good idea to instantly react to this type of information.
And so you try to carry on, doing the things you do, whilst your brain is actively trying to play out all possible scenarios wreaking crazy havoc in your mind.
Occasionally, the things that clog your system and place your brain in a buffering mode are not even that obvious. It could be a change in the health of a close family member and without your consent your brain is suddenly trying to plan ahead for sacrifices you’ll need to do if their health deteriorates further.
The whiteness of the page can be blinding, when you’re processing more than you think.
Now let’s unblock your creativity, shall we?
When something like this occurs and you’re sat in front of your journal not knowing where to begin, it’s only because you’ve walked too many paths without noticing the turn and now you’re lost.
What do you do when that happens? Much like when you’ve lost your keys, you pause, stop trying to go further (‘cause you need them keys, right?), and start tracing your steps back, carefully examining every place your keys may have fallen.
Slowly, but surely, you’ll arrive to the realisation of what it is that truly caused the problem. In the case of the relationship, you might find out that you also want to be on the opposite side of the world but don’t want to wait until retirement. Or that you never want to budge even a block from where you currently are. In the case of the job, you may find out that your boss has been disrespecting you in many other ways and it’s not about the money anymore – they’re simply yet another symptom.
Here’s the thing: if you’re clogged by information, it’s because the answer is not obvious to you.
Let’s summarise.
When you’re experiencing a writer’s block, do the following:
- Pause from trying to be creative.
- Start writing by tracing back the days, event by event and step by step, until something evokes a reaction.
- Explore that reaction (IN WRITING!), until what you put on the page gives you the feeling of relief.
- Then you’ll probably get a sudden urge to go to the toilet – do that!
And if none of that applies and you’re simply here because your ideas feel flat and uninspired — fair enough. Here are five prompts worth your time.
Prompt 1
Fairness Write down a few things which you feel are unfair in this world. Pick the one that makes you feel the most and start exploring a way to correct it and set the world straight. You can easily get lost in this prompt for days.
Prompt 2
The unexplainable Consider things you feel are impossible to wrap in words. It could be events in nature, something that feels supernatural, human stupidity or human greatness, the love or hatred you may feel for something seemingly very random.
Prompt 3
Making yourself crazy Start describing a world around you that’s incredibly whimsical. Imagine the pen or keyboard as the thing of fairy tales, the window, the door, the floor. In your words, get up from where you are and start walking into that whimsical world having the most fun you have ever had.
Prompt 4
Set the record straight Go back in time to a person who didn’t make you feel good. Perhaps it’s something they did to you or something you observed. Have a conversation with them. Focus on your side of the conversation, but try to give them a fair response, too. Aim for a resolution – you’ll either walk away or become friends. Get to the bottom of it.
Prompt 5
What did they do to your parents? Many (if not all) have a beef or more with their parents. What we often forget, however, is that they are people, too. Go back in time (or look at immediate surroundings) and pick a specific person. Explore their attitude towards your parent(s). Are they kind, supportive, taking advantage, or else. What is it in your parents’ action that enables this attitude. What could they do to stop it. Would they do it and why not. Don’t get mad with them – ask the question exploring deeply.
If you what you actually need is a writing buddy
Simply head to this page and join the next journaling challenge; most things in life are done easier when there’s a friendly face cheering you on.