You are finally alone at your desk. It is quiet around you. No one is there to bug you or to get in your way. You have a story to write. You know what you have to do. You have your coffee next to you. Your laptop is open and on. You stretch your fingers and are ready to go. And…nothing happens.

It has been glamorized on tv and in movies. We all remember the scene from Big Hero Six when Hiro ends his fast montage about trying to come up with an original idea in order to try to get into the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. (On a side note, How cool would it be if his invention was real!) Well, when you lose your muse or nothing is coming to mind, here is some helpful trick of the trade.

Walk Away

Getting a little distance from your work can help a great deal. By taking your mind off of your issues with the story, the story might accidentally come to you. It has been exaggerated in popular media; suddenly something is taken completely out of context but the answer vaguely applies and the phrase is muttered: “You’re a genius!” My personal favorite is “You do your best thinking when you're not thinking at all.” Although it was incredibly cliche, it was still in one of the best comic based movies of all time so it had to make an inclusion here.

Yes, it actually happens that way in real life. You might be doing something as simple as washing the dishes and the story just starts coming to you. Just be sure to not walk away for too long. I have seen writers walk away from a story in order to get some clarity and never return. I have personally walked away from a project, not to pick it back up for years. Point is, always come back to it.

Exercise

Getting the blood flowing can help a great deal. It is a proven fact that exercise will help get the endorphins going. This is a big one for me (although it doesn’t show). Just a few quick pushups or a bike ride down the street and back might be all it takes. On a side note, I wish the fat walked away faster than my friends every time I bring up my man crush on Nightwing.

For more info on this check out this great article from the Scientific American website.

Get in the mood

No, this does not mean what you think. Depending on what you are writing about, it would help to be in the mood. If you are writing suspense or a horror story listening to the top 40 on the radio might not be the best idea. There are some exceptions; listening to Justin Bieber might put you in the perfect state of mind to write about raging out (for those that don’t understand my hatred for Justin Bieber, that was a joke). -That's just me.

When I was writing the story D-Day, I had already done the research. I interviewed surviving veterans. I had listened to their recorded accounts hundreds of times but I still wasn’t ready to write their stories yet. It hadn’t become personal for me.

I got on the phone and talked with some old army buddies and then it was suddenly personal. My fictional characters suddenly came to life. Since I could now relate to the characters on the page, their story began to flow without my trying.

Notepad by the bed

If you ever need some new ideas, keep a notepad by your bed and as soon as you wake jot down your dreams and feeling before you lose them.

I often do this, especially if I have taken sleeping pills to help go to sleep. I get some incredibly vivid and often wacky dreams. By making a note of them, I am able to revisit the idea after I have been awake for a while and can function enough to actually write.