We all know that lightning-bolt feeling when suddenly inspiration strikes and ideas flow from pencil to page like your hand is on fire, but what is there to be done on those days when your mind feels like a pool of sludge and dredging it for ideas is like drawing blood from a stone? This will be the first post in my ‘author insights’ series, where I share my personal experiences as a writer in the hopes that some of it may be useful to someone.

As not only an author, but an artist, being stuck for ideas is a nightmare. At times there just seems to be a wall that throws itself up between me and my creativity – and I’m betting you’ve all felt the same. When this happens to me, I tend to try and push through it at first and just carry on, but if I’m still unable to come up with anything after a hearty meal and cuppa, I resort to changing tack.

My favourite method of breaking through a block is trying to draw the scene or story I’m struggling with. And, likewise for my art, if I’m having trouble with a certain sketch or painting, I’ll try and write the scene how it would be play out in a novel. Another thing I try (and this one is good for all you non-artists out there) is just stretching my writing muscles elsewhere.

For example, if I want to write a short story but I’m having trouble with the first line, I’ll start somewhere else in the story. And if worst comes to worst, I’ll just go ahead and write something new and entirely off the cuff. More often than not, these little inspiration boosters are terribly written and not at all interesting, but at the very least they’re entertaining to write and they get my creative juices flowing enough to keep on going with the story I was having trouble with originally.

If all else fails, my advice is to take a bath and have a nap – you’ll get there eventually so long as you don’t give up!