I've never had any trouble coming upwith new and slightly random topics for blog posts... until this week (and as you might have noticed I'm also uninspired to think of catchy titles for my posts). I asked you guys for help on Twitter and the amazing Tudda Pudda was the first to respond:

I don't do anything before I sit down to read, except telling everyone to shut up because I want to read, but I was very excited to write a post full of life-changing writing tips, I really was. So I pictured my own writing process and came to the stunning conclusion... that I have no idea what I'm doing when I'm writing. My writing process in a nutshell:

Step 1: Randomly get ideas at 3am
Step 2: Scribble idea down on the nearest piece of paper
Step 3: Try to make sense of it in the morning
Step 4: Unprepared word sprint!
Step 5: Run out of ideas
Step 6: Wait for inspiration to come

I know, I know. Not at all what you expected. I may sound like I'm almost a pro, but in reality I'm an overexcited amateur. I could give you tips on how to be overexctied, but that's not what you're looking for, is it?
I was bummed when I realized that I couldn't do a post on writing tips. I discarded the idea and started studying for finals. My slightly dysfunctional brain, however, had other plans than learning German geography. I had barely opened my text book when a little voice in my mind whispered: 'Hey Envy, you can give tips on what to do while waiting for inspiration to come!'
I tried to ignore the voice, because I recognised it as the one that usually makes me do stupid things, but this time it was very persistent. 'You're the best at waiting for inspiration to come. Write about what to do while waiting!'
I looked at my text book, then at my laptop. It was an easy decision. 'Okay,' I said to myself. 'Let's do this.'

When I was younger, let's say seventeen, I used to do gigantic word sprints. When I finished them, I'd literally stare at a blank wall until inspiration came to me again. The results were terrible, so I decided to try a different approach. These days I pick one of the things from this list, wait for a while and TA-DA, inspiration!

#1: Watch pointless TV shows
Whenever I'm stuck or stressed out, I watch pointless TV shows. These shows are so simple and brainless that you're brain comes up with great ideas out of sheer boredom. Let's take a look at my favorite pointless TV show: Wicked Tuna. It's about people on boats catching, right, you guessed it, tuna. Every episode is the same. They start by saying: "We really need to catch a fish today!"
Then they go out at sea to try and catch a fish. When they catch one, they all start yelling how big it'll be (and it's never as big as they claim it to be). So they catch the fish, go sell it and say: "Now we need to catch more fish!". So they go out at sea and do the whole thing again. Pretty pointless, isn't it?
But the beautiful thing is that your brain doesn't get a lot of impulses to process, so your subconcious can work on your story. Works for me every single time!

#2: Edit, edit, edit
If you don't want to lose touch with your story by watching people catch tuna, editing it the best thing to do. You already know what you want to say in the chapters you've already written. Go over them again, tweak a bit here and there until you're happy with it. I do this when I feel very productive, but inspirationless at the same time. By the time I've edited two or three chapters, my mind has worked out a whole new chapter.

#3: Sleep
First, let's take a moment to appreciate the awesomeness of sleep, okay? Since I started college, sleep has been my best friend. When I'm working on a story late at night and every word I write sounds wrong, I call it a day and go to sleep. My mind is still in the middle of this story and nine out of ten times I'll dream about it. Most of my good ideas are based on dreams I've had.
It's not just the dreaming that helps me to get inspired again. When I don't dream, I create a little bit of distance between me and the characters. Not much, but enough to see things from a different perspective. I wake up with awesome ideas the next morning and get ready for my next word sprint.

#4: Tell a friend
When I'm really desperate, I tell friends about the story I'm working on. They more or less have to be supportive, because they are your friends. Besides, even if their enthousiasm is faked, it can motivate you just enough to think your story over again and spark some ideas.
If that doesn't work either, I just ask them for help. "What would you do if you were the main character?" That kind of questions. I listen to each and every suggestion, then take what I like best and add some ideas of my own to the mix. If you're really desperate, this'll get you right back on track!

So that's what gets me through those awful inspirationless moments. What do you do while you wait for inspiration to come?

Stay Awesome!