1. Spend some time journaling. Even if it doesn’t help you sort through your thoughts, it’s a great way to force yourself to focus on a single task and just dump the entire contents of your brain into a private safe space.

2. Write something that makes you genuinely happy. Remind yourself that you still love doing what you do, even when it becomes challenging.

3. Set a timer for five minutes. Only start that timer when you actually start writing, and keep writing until those five minutes are up. If you want to keep going after that, you can. But you don’t have to.

4. Write the elevator pitch for the story you’re working on … or the story you want to start working on.

5. Write 250 words. That’s it! You can do that!

6. Find one writing job/gig or potential place to submit your work to. You don’t have to apply or submit today. Just add it to your list with the intention of returning to it tomorrow.

7. Join a writing-centric Facebook group or find and bookmark a new site that offers helpful info and tips (maybe a writing blog, perhaps?) to use for future reference. It’s not writing, but for today, it counts for something.

8. Try a timed stream-of-consciousness exercise just to get some ideas flowing. Write for 10 minutes without stopping, for example, and see what your brain manages to come up with.

9. Haven’t looked at your personal/professional mission statement in a while? Do that. Don’t have one? Now would be the perfect time to write one. What is it you want to accomplish in everything you do on a daily basis? What is your purpose?

10. Speak your goal(s) into existence. Say them out loud. Let yourself hear them.

11. Write down, anywhere you want, exactly what it is you’re working to accomplish. Write it; look at it; allow yourself to smile. It’s right there, this thing that you’re hoping for. Now go make it a reality, one tiny step at a time.

Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is an editor and writer, and a 12-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food, and Star Wars.

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