When Your Creative Spark Goes Out

A writer’s creative spark is an elusive thing. Mine comes and goes at will. Sometimes it refuses to show itself. Other times it’s like a shy woodland creature flitting in and out of the shadows of my mind. It shows up at odd times, sometimes in my dreams when I’m sleeping. It seems partial to the sound of falling water. Ideas tend to pop into my head when I’m in the shower or washing dishes.

Recently my creative spark went missing. I knew it was in there somewhere, hiding under the cold ashes of my brain. But it stubbornly refused to be fanned into a flame. I pleaded and cajoled, to no avail.

Me: Won’t you come out and play?
Sparky: No. I’m not in the mood.
Me: Please? I don’t have anyone else to play with.
Sparky: Not my problem.
Me: I order you to show yourself!
Sparky: Ha! You’re not the boss of me.

I should mention I wasn’t sitting idle during that time. I was at my desk writing every day. I was also managing my social media accounts and doing stuff for the organization I belonged to at the time.

The problem was none of it excited me.

An author friend advised me, “The things we do that are a time suck can also be creativity drain.” I realized she was right. So I decided to reprioritize, starting with ditching every task and activity I didn’t enjoy or didn’t absolutely need to do. I also thought long and hard about the book I was writing. Was it what I absolutely WANTED to write, or was it a book I was writing because I thought it would appeal to a wider audience? The answer lay in the fact that I wasn’t that excited about it.

Here are the three steps I took to get my creative spark back:
• I cut back on my non-writing activities that I wasn’t enjoying and didn’t jump on my Instagram feed the minute I sat down with my first cup of tea in the mornings.
• I quit the organization I was in, which freed me to do other things with the time I’d previously devoted to it.
• I set aside my work in progress and started writing the story that was in my head, with no thought to whether it would sell. I simply wrote the story I wanted to read.

Poof! Like magic my creative spark returned and the spark became a flame. I’ve been writing like a house on fire ever since. I have more creative energy now than I did before, and as a result an uptick in my daily word count to show for my efforts. I’ve accomplished more in the past few weeks than did in the months I’d spent hammering away at the WIP I’d set aside. Best of all, I’m excited about what I’m writing.

More about the book I’m writing to come. Hint: It’s the first book in a planned series set in the California gold country. Right now, I need to keep fanning the flame so it doesn’t go out again.