Writing about nothing

The irony of this blog will become apparent as you read it. But the main point I want to make in it is actually one worth making. I want to address the question: What does a writer do when he or she has run out of ideas? And yes, this blog was prompted by a moment in which I myself wanted to sit down and write a blog but had completely run out of ideas. Hence the irony.

But then my mind kept ticking and I realised I knew the answer to this question.

You see, we live in an amazing, God-given world, a world brim full of incredible facts, experiences, ideas and stories. The problem is never that there is nothing to write about. It is only that a person (such as myself) has somehow found themselves in a place that is hidden away from the world that is there. Perhaps this is through sheer exhaustion (for we all get tired); perhaps it is through spending too long in a boring, colourless place; perhaps it is through simply forgetting to “stop and smell the roses,” even though the roses are right at your fingertips.

Whatever the reason, the solution is obvious. A writer—such as myself—has to re-engage with the world, even if it is only in very simple ways. So here are my top four simple “methods” (what a ghastly, managerial word) of re-engaging.

Firstly, get outdoors (preferably walking). Literally “smell the roses.” In fact, use all your senses to connect with the world that is there. Look at it, listen to it, feel it, smell it, taste it. If you do, you will have a thousand things to write about.

Secondly, read (voraciously). Find a book that inspires or challenges, that reveals new things or reinvigorates old ones. In recent weeks I have read C.S. Lewis’ God in the Dock and The Abolition of Man, A.A. Milne’s poetry, Anthony Horowitz’ Stormbreaker, two books about the future of artificial intelligence and one about the history of philosophy, and the Bible’s Mark, Ephesians, Hosea and more. All contained radical, inspiring things, and sparked all sorts of thoughts, like water splashed vigorously over a toaster. (Please don’t try that at home, but the metaphor is apt.)

Thirdly, spend time imagining. If you’re a writer like me, you’re probably something of a creative tragic. Allow yourself time to imagine and dream, preferably with pen and paper handy. Ideas, characters, landscapes and stories will somehow materialize, and all sorts of possibilities will begin to present themselves.

Fourthly, converse with really interesting people. Fortunately there are still a reasonable number of such characters to be found, in spite of the horrible march of commercialisation. But you still have to make the effort, once you have met them, to talk about interesting things (otherwise what is the point?). Yet, if you do, well again it’s like the water and the toaster. Sparks will fly. Ideas will form.

So there. I set out to write about “writing about nothing,” and I actually wrote about something. It only goes to show that the world really is relentlessly interesting, if I only allow myself to notice what is there. I think I’ll go for a long walk.

(c) Peter Friend, 2019