5 Ways to Fill Your Bucket

Burned out?

Trying to make sense of your new fiction title, and have finally decided to scrap it?

Don't.

Sometimes, all we need is a re-fill. When we're full, we can easily return to our projects without a hitch. Here are some ideas:

1. Spend some time away from your desk. Meaning a few hours away. Not just in your front or backyard, or taking a cruise to the grocery store. I'm talking about a real fill-up; the kind that doesn't answer the door or the cellphone. I'm talking about a park. The canyons. The lake. The... (you fill in the relaxing place). You may have to plan ahead, but do it. A change of scenery to ponder and think usually does the trick.

2. If you feel as if you can't leave your place (at least not right now when you're feeling so burned out), take some moments to read. I mean it. Don't read and edit your own work. Read someone else's purely for enjoyment. Don't try to fix the awkward paragraphs (because you will probably still see them even in published works) and don't analyze anything. This is so tough for me because I'm doing it every day on my own work and the works of others, but when I can truly relax and read a good book, I'm filled up for the next adventure in my writing life.

3. Play some music and do nothing. Impossible, you say? Try it. Pick something soothing, lay back and close your eyes. See if you can manage doing nothing for 15 minutes, then return to your work. You'll be surprised at what you come up with.

4. Get creative. Write just because you love it. Start anywhere. From a picture you've chosen from a magazine, from a randomly chosen sentence in your favorite novel, from your favorite quote; just start writing and let it flow.

5. Call someone and tell them you love them. Do something for someone else. Visit someone who doesn't get out much. Call a friend you haven't spoken with in a long time. Get out of yourself. When we focus on someone else, even if it's for a few short hours, it's amazing what comes back to us in the form of new and creative ideas.

We all have buckets we need to fill, and sometimes, we feel as if there are more holes in our bucket than ideas. That's when we need to take a second look at life.

Got Ideas?

We've all heard the "Got Milk?" slogan. We've also heard the myriad ways it's been translated, so I couldn't help but put in my two cents.

Photo by: NikonFilm35, courtesy of Flickr

Got ideas?

For many writers, ideas aren't always easy to dig up. Like an old tree that's been growing for 100 years, we can't seem to get a hold on those ideas that have been firmly planted in the soil.

Photo by: Mary J. I., courtesy of Flickr

The good news is, though we may not be able to see the ideas, they are still there, rooted to the earth. What we must do is to spend some hours digging for the priceless gems.

Here are some things I do when I feel stuck:

1) I think about what is going on in my life and write about it. Journals are great resources for great ideas.
2) I take a break from writing and work out in the yard. I read a book, or do something totally unrelated to writing like shopping or going out to lunch.
3) I take out my binder full of pictures that I've cut from magazines. I choose a picture randomly and write what I see, hear, taste, touch or smell. In other words, I work on the five senses; something that needs to happen in every piece of writing I put out.
4) I work on a different project. When I feel "stumped" I focus my energy on something else. Usually that frees me up to return to the first project.
5) Living life is the best way to find great ideas. Take a bus ride, go to the park, observe people at Wal-Mart and take notes.

Ideas are out there. Sure, they may be buried in your subconscious. It may feel as if you'll never again have a great idea for a book project, but you will.

That's a guarantee.