What do you do when you're out of ideas?
Worse than writer's block, ideas block is a nightmare. Lottie explains.
We’ve all heard of writer’s block. That feeling when you sit down and look at your blank page or half-cobbled together feature and you just can’t write anymore. You’re out of inspiration. Your brain is on pause. You need to walk away and come back later. But what about ideas block?
This is something I have struggled with immensely over the last few years. Ideas block — a term I’m coining right here, right now — is when you’re just all out of ideas. You need to pitch stories, but you’ve got none. You’re unable to think up angles and headlines. Your inspiration is dead. Your well has dried up.
I experienced this — a very, very dry well — while writing my third book (the cover of which I revealed on Instagram last week, yay!). From November through to late February, I worked almost solely on my book, channelling all my creative energy into the chapters I had to finish before my deadline in March and spending every single day at my desk with my trip notes. I loved writing it, but it sucked all of my creativity and by the time I was finished and I’d filed my manuscript, my brain was a barren land. I had used up all my good ideas in the book, and I was now unable to ideate.
Of course, that’s not really how it works. You don’t “use up” all your good ideas. Instead, what happened to me was a symptom of spending too much time working on one single, long-standing project. I was so engrossed in my book writing, that by the time I finished it I hadn’t engaged with or thought about anything else for months. I hadn’t been anywhere, read anything new, talked to many people or thought about anything other than Dog-Friendly Europe. And all that meant my ability to generate ideas was out of practice, and I’d had none of the external stimulation that helps you find inspiration.
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Fortunately, I’m now back on the horse. I’ve pitched (and had commissioned!) several stories over the last couple of months since finishing my book, while also working on writing my next ones. And I didn’t even have to try to come up with ideas. What had felt impossible during and in the days after writing my third book suddenly became an overwhelming urge to pitch and write as many stories as possible. I was brimming with ideas and inspiration, and pitches were coming out of my fingertips and onto my laptop like water from a tap.
So what changed? I was reading. I was socialising again. I was doing new things. I was out of book-induced hibernation and back in the real world where the news was happening and culture was flourishing. I pitched a story on a TV show that’s airing in May and got the commission almost immediately. I pitched a story about caravanning after I triumphantly reverse-parked my caravan in front of three mechanics without a hitch and got the commission with the first editor I contacted. I wrote three pitches after reading a guidebook about a destination I’m travelling to in July — I’m yet to send them out as I need to chat with a couple of people before I do, but the ideas excite me.
So, this is a rather roundabout way of saying, if you feel uninspired or like you’ve run out of good ideas, don’t just sit at your desk and panic. You’re not going to find inspiration through your inbox. There’s probably nothing in your office that’s going to suddenly spark an idea. Get your head into a new book. Plan a trip — even if it’s one you’re not going to go on. And talk to people! This is how new ideas come to the forefront for me most of the time. Engaging with creativity breeds creativity. You’ve not lost the ability to generate ideas. You’ve probably just lost yourself in work or whatever else is swallowing up your time. Get outside. Do something different. The inspiration will come.
We often focus so much on the “how to pitch” element of this job, or “how to write a story”, that we forget that without ideas — and without ideation — we wouldn’t be able to pitch a thing, or write a single sentence. With this in mind, this month’s series of newsletters is going to focus on ideas, both generating them and honing them. Here’s what’s coming up for paid subscribers in May:
Press releases: wtf do you do with them and are they a source for ideation?
How can you ensure you’re not stealing others’ ideas?
How to make the most of a conversation with a PR
Who to follow
Travelfish founder and long-time travel writer Stuart McDonald is about the take on an overland trip of epic proportions from Bali (Indonesia) to Leeds (UK), so follow him on Bluesky to see the journey. Read about it here, too.
Post of the week
Industry must-reads
Last year, Intrepid’s second Diversifying Travel Media Press Trip went to Portugal with four aspiring writers and a handful of mentors, with seminars led by me (Lottie). The result is a collection of wonderful stories and perspectives by the mentees published on Adventure.com. Here they are:
Rewild, restore and connect: How a trip to Portugal brought solace to a traumatized firefighter — JD Murphy
Far from the crowds: A guide to Portugal’s lesser-known Côa Valley — Jessica Heather
Ancient Banksy in Portugal: Were the Neanderthals the first champions of public art? — Liseli Thomas
Portugal for slow foodies: How one cook in the Côa Valley is helping preserve rich traditions — Toyo Odetunde
Some good news in the AI versus writers world — a new collective license is coming! This is a really interesting piece by Jamie Lafferty on the NC500 in Scotland — a driving route “invented” a decade ago this year that became the victim of its own marketing success. Also thanks to Jamie for posting this on Instagram, this is a rather damning assessment of the decline of Outside Magazine.
Finally, not really an industry must-read, but if you fancy buying Charles Dickens’ travel writing desk for your portable office, it’s going up for auction.
Want more inspiration for kick-starting your creativity? Check out Meera Dattani’s webinar series on travel writing here. Our online course has tonnes of tips on this topic — check out our Teachable shop here.