In our last episode we talked about finding and following the energy.

But what if you don’t feel the energy? What if your writing feels stale? What then? That's what Julie asked in her Facebook comment.

Is it possible to find and almost generate energy?

I think the answer is yes. Whether we change the environment around us or the environment of our minds, if you will, we can open up new channels for energy to affect us.

Key ideas from this episode:

* Play, especially through Artist Dates.

* Learn, through podcasts, books, and articles online.

* Read models of great writing in your genre.

* Read models of great writing outside your genre.

* Connect with other creative people.

* Challenge yourself toward mastery.

* Take creative risks.

I hope this gets you energized and in motion, so your writing life can flourish!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

* Darren Rowse's podcast episode where he mentions his two reflective questions on energy

* Julie's comment on Facebook about feeling stale and wondering how to find energy

* Julia Cameron's Artist Dates

* Tweetspeak Poetry's infographics on writing in various forms: How to Write an Epic Poem, The Ballad, How to Write an Ode, How to Write a Ghazal, How to Write a Pantoum, How to Write a Haiku, How to Write a Sonnet

* Feedly

* 31 Days: a writing challenge every October, every day

* * *

Listen for the full podcast (7 mins). You can subscribe to The Writing Life with Ann Kroeker with iTunes, where I'd love to have you leave a review, and Stitcher. Use the feed with any podcast player you use.

You can connect with me on Twitter and Facebook, where I'm always sharing ideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive.