Many of us want to write, and yet often the ‘spark’ or ‘flow’ part of creativity can remain elusive and mysterious. It’s very normal to come up against a block or feel like you’re all out of ideas. Here’s how author and 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction judge, Emma Gannon keeps herself inspired and productive:
Accept your unique traits
We are all different when it comes to the specific ways in which we create our work. Some people are meticulous planners. Some people are described as ‘pantsers’ (doing things or making decisions by ‘the seat of their pants’.) Ann Patchett writes while on a walking treadmill. Dawn French writes her novels by hand. Remember it doesn’t matter what your creative process is or how things come out – it doesn’t need to make sense to others. For me, I can sometimes write 1,000 words while a random film on Netflix plays loudly in the background. Whatever works for you, works for you. We all get into our ‘zone’ differently.
Take the pressure off
Do what you can to ease any internal or external pressure. If there is a deadline that feels suffocating, you can always ask for a bit more time. If you are putting pressure on yourself for something to be perfect from the get-go, try to change tack and treat it as an experiment. I like the phrase ‘Draft Zero’ coined by novelist Matt Bell, which is the draft before the official first draft. It takes all the pressure off, it’s just an experimental draft to see what you’re thinking. It can be anything. The world’s your oyster.
Keep a journal
Some of my favourite writers have written beautiful memoirs because they kept a diary they could refer back to. Suleika Jaouad is a fan of journaling even through the hardest of times (she wrote a column from a hospital bed which she said comforted her during a time of scary unknowns); seasoned memoirist Abigail Thomas says journaling helps when your memories start to fade with age. A journal is not only therapeutic but even one-off sentences can be tiny seeds for bigger ideas later down the line.
Go for a walk
It’s always a good idea to get out of the house before sitting down at your desk. Whenever I feel adrift or my spark is diminishing, I make sure I get out into the fresh air. Not only is movement good for the brain but you’ll come back to your desk having new things to write about. The smallest things (seeing a dog, a new type of flower, analysing the weather) can jog your memory or create a spark.
Grab your favourite book
Re-reading a beloved book can feel like you’re settling into an old familiar armchair. I love re-reading old favourites or just having them nearby; it can reignite that childhood passion and remind you why you love making things in the first place. It can inspire you to see a sentence in a new way. I recently re-bought all my favourite Jacqueline Wilson books. An old favourite I love re-reading is Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to A Young Poet as well as Letters to a Young Artist by Julia Cameron.
Talk to a ‘believing mirror’
Speaking of Julia Cameron (known for her seminal book The Artist’s Way), she coined the phrase ‘believing mirror’. This is someone who reflects back to you all your positive traits such as ‘your possibility and your strength.’ The opposite of a believing mirror is someone who kills your idea immediately. It’s often best not to share your ideas with these people. They will nitpick everything and shut it down before you have a chance to dream. Of course there is a time and place for editors and critics, but that is later on, once the idea has had room to grow. I have a list of my own believing mirrors; they were crucial to all my books making it from start to finish and are often in the acknowledgments section of my books.
Listen to an uplifting podcast
One of my favourite episodes that I re-listen to is Elizabeth Gilbert on The TED Interview podcast. Her view is that the beauty of creativity means you get to discover who you will be on the other side of any creative project. The project will change you, stretch you and teach you things, and that is a gift in itself, outside of external validation. (See also: listening to Big Magic on audiobook.)
Cancel a plan
A universal truth: any longform project, such as writing a novel (of say 80,000 or 100,000 words) comes with some sacrifice – I.e. it’s a big undertaking and this means there’ll come a time (or many) where you have to choose your book over something else. This might mean leaving the pub early, or taking a rain check on a family plan. This is hard to do. But the people who love you will understand that you’re currently working on something that deeply matters to you and that means ring-fencing some time for it.
‘Touch’ your project every day
You can keep a spark alive by ‘touching’ your project every day. This means working on it for ten minutes or simply opening the document (or object, or file, or physical folder or whatever it might be!) regularly. It means staying close to it, even if you have no time.
Book a last minute hotel room
This is a bonus point and not mandatory but I am very much a fan of solo creativity time. (My new novel Table For One, echoes this sentiment). My friend Daisy Buchanan calls it “magic cave time”. Your ability to go inwards, have solo time and have some space to write or make something is important. Of course Virginia Woolf famously said it first: “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write.” If you do not have a room at home to write in, a night or two away from home can do wonders.
Emma’s new novel, Table for One, is published by HarperCollins on 24 April 2025, and available to pre-order now.
