When Inspiration Fails You

Apologies for the lack of a post yesterday. There is no excuse to give, as I had plenty opportunities to post. The reason I didn't, though, is because I had nothing to say. I spent some time trying to come up with something to write about, and when it came down to it I had nothing. As much as I'd like to post every day on here, I know that inspiration is not going to come every day, and I definitely don't want to try and force myself to write something that has no point.

So yesterday gave me the idea for today's post: what to do when the inspiration doesn't come. Inspiration is impossible to control, and you can be inspired at any time of day as a result of any number of situations. But for some reason, sometimes it just doesn't happen. Sometimes when you sit down to write your novel, screenplay, piece of music, or really any other creative work you hit a wall. You get writer's block. You don't know what to do.

So what do you do? I've said not to try and force yourself to write when you're not inspired, but that's not to say you should just ignore your project. I think it definitely pays to regularly get yourself into that creative mindset and try to find inspiration, even if you don't get anything out of it. For example, a writer should try to sit down at his computer or typewriter every day and try to write. Maybe that creative barrier is still there and you end up writing nothing, or very little, but by getting yourself into that routine it tells your brain that now's the time to be creative, and you're more likely to find inspiration. You still can't control it, but a routine gives you better odds of finding inspiration when you really need it.

Other than that, how do you find inspiration? Well, that's really the whole purpose of this blog, to document things that give me inspiration and to discuss where the inspiration came from for my videos. My hope is that maybe someone reading this will get inspired to do something creative. But how do I find inspiration? Like I said, it can take any form and can come at any time, and it's everywhere. Listen to a lot of music, both music that you listen to often and love as well as new music. Read a lot, not just books but newspapers, magazines, textbooks. Read back through your creative journal to see if an entry sticks out. Even movies and television can be inspiring. Hell, even a jar of peanut butter could inspire you.

If inspiration doesn't come one day, don't worry and don't beat yourself up over it because eventually it will come. Don't stop looking for it and sit idly by waiting; instead, ready yourself to be prepared for when inspiration does come.

Of course there is one thing that will never fail: StumbleUpon.
(I'm half joking.)

I'm posting another one of my videos tomorrow!