At the wee hour of two, on Wednesday, an unfavorable set of conditions caused a chain reaction that led to an 11pm victory dance. I want to tell you all about it because, as humans (my apologies to any popsicles reading this), you like stories; and, as a writer, I like telling them.

My writing has been in a horrible slump. My ideas slowed to a trickle and I’ve barely managed 100 words a week in my WIP’s. But invigorating the writer’s muse is like trying to subdue a gianormous Hun with a Mcdonalds drinking straw. 

Before we go on, let me start by saying this isn’t really about writing or martial arts—or huns; this is about a universal truth that applies to any art you may pursue.

At 2am, I woke with a migraine. It was my first one in several months. I gave up on sleep about 4am and started reading. I read other author’s stories and critiqued them. I read good and bad writing. I read weblogs and responded to them. I read news and tech papers and everything I could set my eyes on.

Then, when I couldn’t stay awake anymore, I slept. When I woke up again, I sat down at my computer, without any real thought of doing so, and started writing. When I stopped, it was eleven at night and I’d just finished the first serious, meaningful, good writing I’ve done in months.

And I did the victory dance.

 It wasn’t all Wednesday to be sure. I did several things that helped nudge myself back into the habit:

• I started journaling again; putting letters on paper, as amazing as it sounds, is an important step in writing
• I started talking with writers again, mostly about my lack of progress
• I started reading again; no doubt the single greatest renewal of writing energy

But these things didn’t bring the ideas or the inspiration to sit at my keyboard. It was the migraine.

Now, before you run off and try to figure out how to give yourself migraines, let me point out that they weren’t the source of my writing energy. They were just a catalyst that led to a very important event: time away.

You see, to write, you need several very important things:

• The ability to see the world around you
• The ability to capture and articulate what you see in exciting ways
• Sleep—i.e. energy to think (I’m constantly amazed at how much energy thinking consumes)
• Time away (from what? yes, that… and that too… and before you ask, yes)

There are endless books about journaling and carrying cameras everywhere you go, writers workshops, seminars, and college corses to teach the first two.

The latter two you have to give to yourself, and you have to do it over and over again.

I haven’t for months and the results are clear. And it is so easy. It is so simple. Just take some time to sleep, and take some time to escape, and your muse will come knocking before you know it.