The writer, a rare and unusual creature, sits at their desk. They stare at a blank page, the tip of their thumb on their lips. They’re ready to write, but something’s wrong. It’s as if the idea well, that magical place where stories come from, has dried. The void on the computer pulses a blinding white, sending the writer into a catatonic state. A few minutes later, the writer collapses and passes out on the floor from despair. In some cases, the writers will sing along to “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel (I like the Disturbed cover though).

So, that dumb thing aside, I want to bring up the quote I used the other day and I’m going to twist it positively this time around.

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work” – Stephen King

(I’m going to go ahead and pretend to be part of the rest of us because I’m pretentious like that. Bite me)

What I want to talk about is all the weird crap we do when we’ve hit that point of desperation because no ideas come. Like when I was thinking about what to write today.

I had nothing when I started, so I decided to just leave the blank page and do something else instead. I went to my kitchen (which is literally four feet away from my desk), and started to make myself a latte, which I make meticulously (yeah, I’m pedantic about coffee. Hell, I don’t even go to cafes. I only buy their beans and leave).

I blended the coffee beans, making sure to use the exact measurement. I prepared the little metal container, and started up the espresso machine. I heated up milk on a little metal pan thingy, and then brewed the espresso into a measuring cup to make sure it’s the exact amount (2oz for a double shot). I frothed the milk with the steamer, and poured it over the espresso.

Once I was done, I sat down at my desk, and loaded up google play music (google, please pay me ad revenue. Pretty please?) and started a personal playlist called “induction music.” Erik Satie’s Gymnopedies played, and were followed by the theme from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the Interstellar theme in piano form.

Yeah, I have a stupid ritual. It’s a little cliché, but that’s what I do. It sounds ridiculous, considering I wasn’t really thinking, actively anyway, about what I was going to write, but—by the time I hit play—I was able to fight the blank page and start this. Why was it?

Well, I have a theory, but that may be super far off. To be honest, I probably should do my research to back my claim up, but I’m not in college anymore. And, I’m super lazy.

The idea is: sometimes you just got to let your subconscious do the work for you. If it’s a problem that you have to deal with, usually your brain will keep on working on it even if you’re not actively thinking about it. That’s why sometimes, when you hit a wall with a puzzle or problem, you find a solution some time later after you’ve distracted yourself.

That’s the tactic I use. When I can’t think about something to write, or my creativity seems to be trash, I do something else—a “writing ritual.” Usually that involves making my coffee, which takes too much damn time when I’m rushing to work, but it’s perfect when I’m trying to let my brain do its thing.

So, I encourage this. Don’t stare at the white page. Find a writing ritual. Something that lets you distract yourself physically and keeps your subconscious going.

Have a writing ritual? Let me know! I’m super curious to see what others do!