When the Well is Dry

When inspiration is lacking

I’m off on holiday tomorrow. Hooray! I’ve finally finished the edits for book two, and I’m hoping inspiration for book three might strike in the Spanish sunshine. But at the moment, I don’t have a single idea what I might write about. 

I thought I’d turn to some famous writers for advice on how to ignite the creative spark. Victor Hugo, author of ‘Les Miserables’ had a unique way of ensuring he finished writing his books. According to Author Unlimited, ‘Hugo would strip off his clothes, give them to his valet, and tell his valet not to let him have them back until he was finished.’ That’s not an option for me. I don’t have a valet. And it can be very cold where I write.

The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed to have dreamt the story for his poem ‘Kubla Khan’, possibly under the influence of laudanum. But I don’t think Boots stock the drug these days. 

Closer to home, an item on a writers’ forum I belong to offered some good advice recently: Suggestions comprised: allowing yourself not to think about writing for a week, go for walks, read, watch films, watch people.                    

Neil Gaiman put it this way: “You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it.” 

So I’m off to sit in the sun and daydream – with permission not to stress about writing anything. Who knows, I may come back brim-full of ideas.