Maybe if I stare at the keyboard long enough I’ll get an idea.
It’s almost the weekend, people! That means mowing your yards, attending your barbecues and . . . possibly working on your WIP’s.
Don’t issue a collective groan; I know how hard writing can be. This is especially true when you are tired, uninspired, and quagmired about what to say next (yes, I turned “quagmire” into a verb. Just go with it). So here is my answer to the seemingly-insurmountable problem of writer’s block. It is . . . the last writing prompt you’ll ever need!
Your go-to writing prompt
Here it is: if you can’t write . . . write about it!
Stay with me on this one: everyone has reasons they can’t write. And they’re all different reasons! Okay, many of them have similarities, but it’s the subtle differences and flavors that make for writing material. You could make up a story about someone who is creatively blocked–and goes on an amazing adventure that un-blocks them.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Lani (and you call me “Lani” because we’re all on a nickname-basis in my head), if I could think of an adventure to write about, I wouldn’t have writer’s block! Duh!” Fair enough. But if you could go on an amazing adventure to escape your WIP right this moment, what would it be? What would you do? Who would you talk to? What advice might they give you? That could be your story—or the beginning of one.
No two people will have an identical answer to that question. It will never happen. One person would want to be whisked away by an exiled prince to the south of France. Another might wish for an alien abduction. Maybe your writing-escape fantasy involves the house cleaning itself, or the spouse/kids put into a food coma for a week . . . so you can relax.
And it’s those differences that make the story—and the writer. So that’s something to think about. Especially if you find yourself sitting at a keyboard (which you probably are ), staring at a blinking cursor that you swear is mocking you.
Now go write that prompt!
The fact that you have no story may be a story in itself. Where there’s a place of emptiness, of lack, there’s a space waiting to be filled. And it’s waiting to be filled with your unique story. Use this prompt to stimulate your creative muscles and pump new life into your WIP. Taking a break to write about something different may bring back fresh perspective–as long as you don’t use that break to procrastinate. 
P.S. To see this concept in action, watch the episode of Jim Henson’s “The Storyteller” entitled “A Story Short.” In fact, if you have Netflix, you can view it instantly.
But what do you think of my prompt? Are there others you run to in attempts to cure writer’s block? Let me know in the comments!
(Top image by kchichester)