#creative tips

(For the sake of example, I will be using prompts from last year’s Summer of Bad Batch 2024 challenge)

Let us look at this prompt: Battle Scars

This prompt, alone, can be filled in a variety of different ways and genres and tropes. However, consider the following prompt pairs:

Battle Scars + Stargazing

Battle Scars + Nightmares

Battle Scars + Water Gun Fight

Notice that your inspiration for Battle Scars might be altered by combining it with another prompt. The tone of the entire prompt changes, and might even alleviate creative blockage.

But what if we combined 3 prompts together? (I pause here for anticipated gasps of shock and awe 🫢)

Battle Scars + Stargazing + “You’re a bad liar.”

Battle Scars + Nightmares + Comfort Zone

Battle Scars + Water Gun Fight + “Need a hand?”

Hmmmmm…a twist in inspiration!

There really is no limit to how many prompts you can stack up. A beautiful, inspired tower of greatness at your creative hand! Not to mention, now a single creative work has struck down multiple prompts at once, moving you closer to whatever your end goal might be.

If you get stuck on a prompt this season, do not fret over it. In fact, consider it a potential topping for a prompt sandwich you didn’t expect to make. Find the perfect combination for you, and every prompt will work to your advantage!

🌀 What Is Reblogging? Reblogging is when you share someone else’s post to your own blog. But unlike a simple “retweet,” you can add your own thoughts, tags, or images to it. Your version becomes part of a growing thread.

🔄 Why It Matters – It keeps the original creator credited 💡 – It spreads content to new audiences 🚀 – It helps build your own vibe through curation 🎨 – It opens conversation — every reblog is a response 🗨️

📌 How to Reblog

Find a post you like

Tap or click the 🔁 Reblog button

At the top of the blog select where to reblog to, a community or to your timeline.

Add a comment, gif, or just leave it clean — it’s up to you

Add your own tags (optional but helpful!)

Hit “Reblog” to share it

💡 Tips for Thoughtful Reblogging – Always leave the original credit line intact – Add your own caption only if it adds value – Don’t strip tags — they help posts stay discoverable – Be respectful — your reblog reflects on you too

🤝 Reblogging = Respect Reblogging isn’t “stealing” — it’s supporting. When you reblog, you’re saying “this deserves to be seen.” It’s the highest compliment you can give on Tumblr.

🧠 Want More? This is just the start. Keep an eye out for the next article in this series: “Reblogging vs Reposting — Why One Builds Community, and One Breaks It”

Of course, the most common “answers” to writer’s block are:

Just keep writing, even if you don’t want to. (Something is better than nothing.)

Write now, edit later. (Leave your perfectionism at the door.)

Find what makes you most creative. (Play music, write during the same time of day, find good snacks, write in the right setting, and so on).

These are definitely helpful tips—things you 100% want to do whether you have writer’s block or not, but they’re not much use against more stubborn forms of creative constipation.

That’s where my three failsafe fix-its come in. They have always worked for me, no matter the situation. 

1. Change your writing method.

Story time! I haven’t been able to write for personal prodjects on a computer for four years—about as long as I’ve been writing and editing for my career. I associate my computer with business—even now that I’m between jobs.

My creativity freezes up whenever I try to work on one of my stories, and I get really distracted. Eventually I end up down a rabbit hole looking up limnic eruptions or different types of crocodiles, having only written a paragraph of a completely unrelated story. 

I swapped to hand-writing stuff just after my son was born, and that worked for a long time. I filled several notebooks with some great content (that will eventually be ready for you to read). But then my kid started walking, and I became his favorite chair.

If I have a pen, my kid wants it. And he won’t take a decoy pen. He specifically wants the pen in my hand, so writing when he’s awake is kind of out of the question. (I can only draw when he’s awake because I can balance my tablet on the back of our sofa.) Plus, those of you with munchkins know that you’re generally doing other responsible adult things when the kiddo is asleep, making writing then rather difficult.

I learned I can get a lot of writing done on my phone in the Apple Notes app. It sure beats doom-scrolling Tumblr and is a vast improvement over my retro minesweeper game when I’m spending some quality time in the bathroom. It’s also something I can write with when standing up, sitting on the couch, or hiding behind the baby gate on our stairs.

Can’t get the words out on Google Docs? Switch to Microsoft Word. Getting distracted on your computer? Handwrite your story—in a notebook or even on colorful construction paper. Don’t be afraid to experiment, even across the same story.

2. Get a second opinion.

I have a character floating around my WIPs who’s an absolute blast to write (I can unleash my full punning arsenal), but he’s also an ENFP, meaning we see the world in completely different ways. I often find myself stuck on how he would get out of the really nutty situations he often gets himself into. Thankfully, my ESFJ husband has really strong Extroverted Intuition (an ENFP’s dominant Jungian function), so I can often turn to him and ask, “What would be the dumbest could-work way you’d fix this problem?”

Asking for a second opinion is surprisingly low on most writer’s block fix-it lists, but it is by far one of the most helpful. I’ve been my mom’s developmental story consultant since I could read, and it’s been a great way for her to really churn out the novels. (It’s also a great motivation to finish your story because at least one person will be wanting to read it when you’re done.)

Even if you don’t take someone’s advice, it might still spark something that’ll propel your story forward.

3. Change your story’s direction.

Adapted from The Writing Life by Annie Dillard

Writing, in many ways, is a lot like digging a silver mine. As you rummage around your own head for precious nuggets (those really impactful scenes readers remember forever), you’re setting up a sturdy narrative shaft, using exposition and rising action to fortify walls so your story doesn’t collapse on itself.

Experienced miners know when a shaft isn’t structurally sound. They won’t willingly enter or work on a mine that could cave in on them, gauging the safety of the mine through small clues—clues their demanding boss is completely blind to. 

Your creative subconscious is a miner, and you, its employer. While not always, writer’s block could be an early sign that your story is about to collapse. Perhaps you’ve accidentally let a plot hole grow too large to fill with easy edits, or maybe the way you’re taking your story will fall flat, leaving you and your readers unsatisfied. Sure, you can force your creative subconscious to continue, but you’ll end up with a lot of unusable content in the end.