Sunday With Sisson | Mark's Daily Apple

I'm a writer.

I'm also a fitness and health guy. I make mayo. I give talks. I invest. I'm a family man. But ultimately, I made this all happen as a writer. Still do.

Sometimes the well runs dry. It's more than writer's block, which can be dealt with. Sometimes, you just don't have anything to write, say, impart, or explain. What are you supposed to do in this situation?

What do you do when the well runs dry? Here's what I do: I sit back and disengage with the written word.

I don't white knuckle my way through a mediocre piece that takes all day to write (and never publish). I don't spend time reading other people for "inspiration." I don't even actively look for inspiration anywhere. I do anything but think about writing. Instead I'll try one of the below activities.

In other words, I move on. By removing writing as a possibility I remove myself from the vicious cycle of trying to draw water from a dry well—where, instead of getting what you're after, you only dig yourself deeper.

Inspiration hits when you don't need it anymore. That's the funny thing about it. What do you do when the well runs dry?

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