#Or get creative with stacks of books but in the most recent case I didn't have space

[the-busy-ghost]

Being a very unfit and moderately small person trying to build bad quality flatpack furniture is like do I take the lower back pain from trying to bend myself into bizarre positions or ask for someone else to help, bearing in mind that it will end in a lot of shouting

[wordsmith-storyweaver]

Dude! Do I ever feel your pain on this! Not only has my muse been temperamental, but my physical condition has certainly not helped me feel up to writing. But here is some wisdom that I have heard works (but remember that just as no one diet works for every body, no one writing routine works for every writer).

1. Exercise. Whether it's a yoga session, a walk around your neighborhood, or leg day at the gym, exercise increases your blood flow AND gets you physically and mentally away from writing. With the walk, bring your tunes along to keep your unconscious engaged at all times (your conscious should be on being aware of your surroundings and on the way your body is feeling).

2. Creative battery recharge. As a writer who reads, I always recommend keeping a plentiful stack of books around. This includes e-books. Compare what you are doing to what has been done and what has been published already; in part to know your competition, but also to restock your well of words and ideas. History fan? Try a new writer or an obscure subject that's in your wheelhouse. Also, lots of first time e-book authors will let Amazon charge nothing for the first book in a series, so you can see what is out there without breaking bank. Are you artistic in other ways? Focus on another art project, maybe on that doesn't require words. Not artistic otherwise (like moi)? Take another piece of art and try to describe it; even use a scene from a movie or show, and be as detailed or as spartan in your description as you want (pretend you are describing it to someone who is blind, or go deep into what the characters are feeling and thinking with each action).

3. Support group. Even Emily Dickinson didn't write entirely in a vacuum; she was often secretly inspired by the people around her. In most cases though, writers require a safety net of other human beings. This one has been hard for me personally because of my introversion, but we do live in the age of the internet. Even if you never share a word before posting, having brainstorming partners or sounding boards for your woes can make a big difference in how you approach a character, how you feel about your writing, and can even change the entire course of your work. I recently had a conversation with my best friend's boyfriend, explaining my novel 'verse to him. He asked questions that I hadn't considered before and gave me inspiration to round out a character who had been pretty flat in my mind.

I’m in the midst of a slump on writing. I’ve got a few things I’m working on, including a multi-chapter that I’m excited about, but I’m having trouble actually putting pen to paper, so to speak.

So, instead, I find myself reading because more than half the time, it’s other people’s writing that really gets me inspired. I write because I read. I read things I enjoy and want to contribute back. I read things that drive me nuts and I want to ‘fix’ what drove me nuts. I read things - lines, paragraphs, setting descriptions - and whole separate little worlds pop up in my head and I want to breathe life into them. I dissect lines and paragraphs I enjoy and try to figure out what it is about it that I love and how can I adapt that when I write.

And right now my head is full of inspiration, but the words don’t seem to come.

I’m trying to figure out how to fix that, figure out how to establish a routine or rhythm to create a space where the words can flow. Or, at the very least, how to incentivize myself to write while at the same time not treating writing as a chore.

I think I might try blogging a bit about the process, to prod myself along. I haven’t figured out exactly what form this will take. A friend who is a writer was telling me about how she uses that to motivate herself - posting snippets, talking about what has her excited or where she’s stuck, sharing pinterest mood boards. I may take this idea from her, if you’ll indulge me as I do.

In the meantime, if you’ve gotten this far, tell me about your writing routines. How and when do you carve out time and space? How do you keep yourself motivated? How much do you share with others as you write? What do you keep to yourself?