Art practices help me when I don’t know what to write about.

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

I write every morning (or at least I have been recently), but that doesn’t always mean I have something compelling to write about. The last few days have been a struggle in this area. I sit down to write but don’t quite know what to say. Sometimes I even have a prompt from the days prior, but I just don’t feel like going any there.

On days like these, I first reflect on why I am writing every day in the first place. I ask myself so that I am not tempted to end the days writing session without a word on the page.

I write every day because it helps me think.

I write every day to practice the habit of writing.

I write every day because it makes me feel better, even on days when I end up just writing down a stream of thoughts.

Okay, I’ve convinced myself to stay with it for at least a few more minutes. Now how do I begin?

Without even knowing it, I have applied practices that I use when creating art and applied them to my writing routine. It’s no surprise that they work because writing itself is an art, and art is also a practice. The cadence of writing and creating art is similar.

It turns out that the approaches that help me past my mini art blocks, may also be the way to get past my mini…