Ah, inspiration, that fickle thing. It comes and it goes. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by a glut of ideas, and at other times overwhelmed by the fact that we ever managed to have an idea at all. It drives us mad, and we can write without it, but it’s always lovely when it shows up again.

If you’re currently going through a bit of a lean patch, inspiration-wise, here are a few writing suggestions, challenges and ideas that you might like to try…

1)      Look out of the window. See what the weather’s doing. Set your story in the precise weather conditions you see out there.

2)      Do the same as above, but instead of writing the weather as it is, write the opposite of what it is. Christmas in summer, anyone?

3)      Pick the nearest upcoming holiday (or if you have an aversion to Halloween or other festive occasion, the nearest upcoming holiday you actually enjoy) and use it as a setting for your story.

4)      If you don’t want to set a story around a particular holiday, instead take inspiration from the stuff that goes with the holiday. For instance, the pumpkins and leaves falling from the trees around Halloween, the smell of bonfire smoke and the sound of exploding fireworks around Bonfire Night, or the sense of merriment (and gluhwein at the market) that crops up around Christmas.

5)      Do the above, but add a twist to it – something to contradict with the holiday spirit, for example, or an exploding firework that’s not really a firework at all…

6)      Switch on a radio station you don’t normally listen to. See what thoughts it conjures up and write about them.

7)      Play the ‘what if’ game. For instance, what if your character unexpectedly killed their best friend? What if they discovered a hidden talent for baking? What if they decided to run for election? What if a meteor was heading straight for earth?

8)      Play the ‘what would X do’ game. You can use your characters for this or, if you’re having trouble with that, any person you can think of. Put them in a situation – the madder the better – and then try and get them out of it.

9)      Stand in the centre of the room. Close your eyes. Spin around a bit. Stop. Open your eyes. Take the first thing your eyes land on and write a piece about it. You never know, An Ode to a Teapot could turn out to be a winner.

10)  If you’re really stuck with your writing, take all the annoyance and frustration that brings, channel it, and write about it. Unleash your inner demons. Write about how much you hate not having anything to write about, or not knowing what to write next. Instantly, it gives you something to write about.