Writing is akin to a vehicle that needs fuel in order to move.

Whenever we write, we “go” to places where our imagination takes us, and inspiration is what drives this vehicle of ours. But when the fuel runs out, we find ourselves stuck in the middle of the road with our vehicle not moving an inch.

We may get stuck here for days, weeks, sometimes months, and the only way to continue this journey down the long winding road is to refuel.

If you are among those whose vehicles aren’t moving for quite a long while, then you’ll have to pick up those fuel canisters and gas up. Look around you, for “fuel” is everywhere and is not in short supply nor will it ever run out.

Gas Up!

People

1. Parents – your first teachers in life know what’s best for their little baby, and even if you’re not of that age anymore (but may still be their ‘baby’) their insight is not really age-specific.

2. Your grandparents – your first teachers also had their own first teachers as well, and they surely have a vast collection of tales that are full of wisdom.

3. Your siblings – they have their own share of adventures and experiences, both good and bad, that may be helpful to your cause.

4. Your significant other – for married couples, the day usually ends with both doing a ‘report’ of the interesting things that happened that day.

5. Your friends – your peers have their own lives and they live it with different personalities which make a good source of different opinions and decisions.

6. Your co-workers – the office water cooler is an oasis for the thirsty and a good place to spend a few minutes catching up with your officemates.

7. The priest / pastor / preacher – the Sunday morning mass / church service provides not only soul food but also great bits of inspiration from the lessons taught.

8. The public – take a stroll downtown and keep your eyes peeled on the things people do, how they dress up, how they talk, etc. The diversity is a mass of inspiration waiting to be harnessed.

9.) Children – these tiny tots of boundless energy are fun to watch when they play, and their free spirit touches people of all ages.

10.) A random stranger – the fellow sitting next to you on the bus, the smiling florist behind the counter, an off-duty policeman. They have their stories to share if you are willing to approach them and start a conversation.

Activities

1. Read – great writers are also great readers. From historical classics to modern short stories, quotes, or self-help books, the world holds a lot of excellent and inspirational written material.

2. Write – writing begets successful writing. Write everyday, write about anything, just keep writing and it will surely improve your writing abilities.

3. Meditate – close your eyes, relax your body, and take deep breaths. Play calming music or resort to silence, whatever works for you.

4. Exercise – it is proven that exercise causes the human brain to release feel-good chemicals known as endorphins. The said chemiclal triggers a positive feeling in your body, causing euphoria and of course inspiration.

5. Play – ball games, board games, video games, puzzles, etc. Exercise your brain and body, and you might be able to pick up material for your site as well.

6. Travel – the world is a vast place with a lot of beautiful sites and wonders to visit and memories to take home with.

7. Eat – people are more happy when they eat the food they love. Just like exercise, eating certain food such as chocolates can stimulate an endorphin release.

8. Party – mingle with people you don’t know for their stories, and some alcohol might lead to more interesting tales.

9. Commute – the sights from your hour-long bus ride may induce some inspiratonal material, be it a beautiful countryside or a traffic jam.

10. Daydream – letting your thoughts fly is a good way to ponder many things and you might come up with good material from your deep thinking.

Places

1. Library – a good source of free reading material ranging from different genres.

2. Market – the busy marketplace has a lot of different interactions, different people, and different colors and scents.

3. Park – a busy Saturday afternoon at the park usually has families spending quality time together.

4. Cafe – jazz music, gentle lighting, soft chairs, people buying coffee and spending time talking or working in their laptops. The cafe’s atmosphere can also help boost your concentration to some degree.

5. Fastfood – a contrast to the calm nature of the cafe. Here you’ll see people on a hurry, hear loud noises, and generally not an ideal place to work on a busy day.

6. Gym – lifting weights not only releases endorphins due to exercise but the rest period that comes in between lifts is also a good time to think about things in life.

7. Store – if you man a store’s counter then you’re bound to be face to face with different people in a single day. with their own smiles, frowns, different moods, and different agendas.

8. School – the destination of kids in their first step towards education up to the last semester of college. School teaches a lot of things, things that may be useful for your material.

9. Nature – leave the concrete jungle of your city and spend time in the arms of mother nature. Sit on the grass, lean on a tree, smell the flowers, hear the wind as it gently blows the leaves.

10. Streets at night – the city streets look like a totally different world when the sun comes down. Different people walk in the shadows under the cast of the faint moonlight, but do be careful since the night may be home to some unsavory characters.

Cyberspace

1. Reddit – an internet community that’s a mix of social network, news website, and source of information ranging from a variety of topics. The Today I Learned (TIL) section offers new knowledge everyday.

2. Tinybuddha – “simple wisdom for complex lives” says the site’s slogan. Collection of tips, stories, and quotes designed to bring out a better you.

3. Lifehacker – a weblog (collection of blogs) that is an excellent source of information and “hacks” (tips and tricks that make life and everyday activities lot easier).

4. Stumbleupon – a unique form of search engine that asks for your interests that range from ancient history to zoology. It then presents a random material from your chosen interests.

5. Social media – Facebook, Myspace, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.

6. Forums – there are a lot of informative communities on the internet with a focus on different or specific topics.

7. Content sites – Deviantart, Youtube, Dailymotion, Wattpad, etc.

8. Chat rooms – Yahoo Messenger has a built-in chatroom with different rooms catering specific topics.

9. Online games – from role-playing games such as World of Warcraft to simple multiplayer games like online chess, these not only stroke your imagination but also foster communcation with players and teammates for an effective winning strategy.

10. Search engines – Yahoo, Google, Bing, etc. Just search for content that you’re most interested in, and you’ll have a lot of sources in a matter of seconds.

Media

1. News programs – your nightly serving of the day’s news will not only inform you of current events but also help you pick up material for your site.

2. Television series – different stories, different characters with unique personalities, dialogue, and intrigue.

3. Movies – an hour or two’s worth of storytelling that may give you a boost of inspiration after you leave the cinema.

4. Documentaries – documentaries cover a lot of topics and give us a perspective that we haven’t yet seen before. Certain documentary topics such as nature or travel also take us to places we’ve never been.

5. Music – close your eyes, plug in your earphones, and relish in auditory pleasure. Music is also proven to be helpful when paired with studying or writing.

6. Photography – a Google Image search of pictures or a visit to your art museum may awake the inner inspiration lying dormant within you.

7. Foreign-language shows – these shows are of different culture, language, and production compared to the ones we’re most familiar with, as long as it comes with subtitles that is.

8. Talk shows – insight from various people, from well-known celebrities to disaster survivors, with their own slice of extraordinary experiences to share.

9. Behind-the-scenes – some movies have special features in their DVD copies wherein they show how the movie was produced such as their techniques in creating special effects.

10. Random channel surfing – as simple as grabbing the remote and hitting a random channel. Think of it as jumping on both feet with your eyes closed towards a pit that contains God-knows-what.