Sometimes, writing is like pulling teeth. The words don’t come. Every sentence is garbage. Advice always says, “Write a few sentences to get started.” Those sentences are “Who wants to read this, anyway? Why am I doing this? Can I crawl under a blanket until the ideas come?” Jobs won’t let you take breaks if you cannot work one day. Yes, vacation exists, but it will run out. A company will fire you if you cannot meet quotas. Why not treat the process of writing similarly? Coming up with new ideas can be tricky. Here are some ideas to beat writing blues.

Create a Playlist

One of my favorite things is when authors share the playlists that helped them write their stories. It’s a great way to find new artists. Another thing I love to do is create playlists for my characters as if they stole my phone. This helps me figure out their worldview at the time of the story. For example, a character with a playlist full of Emo music may need help throughout the story. One character’s playlist may be more pessimistic than another’s upbeat one. An added benefit is if you miss your characters, you can listen to their playlists.

Place Them in a Different World

Have you considered how your fictional personas would fare in The Hunger Games? Put them in one. This can show you how well they can think on their feet. How resourceful are they? What are they willing to do to survive? Are they ruthless, a leader, cowardly? What technology are they familiar with? Would they even know how to use any of the items available to them? It could help you notice any gaps in your universe and present you with new obstacles for your protagonist to face. What is your favorite way to waste time? I waste time scrolling through social media. What would your characters look like doing that activity? Write it out. Words are words on the page. You could discover a character’s new obsession.

Write in Another Author’s Style

An exercise we did in college was to imitate an opposite author’s style for one to two pages. Romance authors write horror. Fantasy authors write contemporary fiction. The training helps break normal habits and may even give you a new genre to consider.

A writer’s worst nightmare is being unable to write on your work-in-progress. Hopefully, these tips can help keep your words flowing.