How to break out of a rut

If you're writer, you've been there.

For some reason, the ideas seem harder to come by.

Sentences are like big boulders that won't move.

Brain clog (smog?) seems to have taken over.

How to break out of the rut?

Well, for one thing, get over it!

There's no such thing as writer's block. Never has been. Never will be.

What if a nurse, getting ready to stick you with a needle, suddenly became paralyzed and said: "Oops! I can't do this. I have nurse's block."

What if a professor walked into a classroom and told her class: "Ladies and gentlemen, I can't teach today. I have professor's block."

What if your car mechanic said he couldn't repair your engine because he had mechanic's block.

Really and truly ridiculous when you think about it.

Strategies for getting your creative bounce back:

Many of the following ideas for infusing your day with creativity come from a Oct. 27, 2009, Wall Street Journal article written by Alexandra Levit, a business and workplace author and speaker.

1. Block out some time on your calendar to think about creativity. That way you elevate its importance in your mind. Clear your head of everyday worries and challenges. Put on some music and let your mind go long. Dream. Think. Imagine.

2. Change your reading habits. If all you read pretty much consists of one publication or Web site each day, expand your horizons. Read something new or different.

3. Read before you doze off into slumberland at night? If so, jot down ideas on a notebook on your nightstand; ideas might also come to you in the middle of the night.

4. For that matter, have a pen or pencil and paper with you everywhere you go. Write down interesting things that you hear, see, smell, touch...--anything that provokes an interesting train of thought.

5. Break out of your comfort zone. Never been to a wrestling match or a NASCAR race, for example? Go to at least one of these and you'll experience the world from an entirely different perspective.

6. Don't be afraid to just bounce around ideas--even if they're stupid. Keep throwing your ideas out there. Keep brainstorming. Once every so often, something sticks!

7. Realize that the brain is a webbed site. Your brain is connected to every part of your body. That means if you've been sitting or lying down all day, the brain might be close to shutting down. Get out and exercise. Get the blood pumping! Word is that when Einstein couldn't think clearly about his theories of physics, he'd ride his bicycle. Massage or stimulate your body and you do the same with your brain.

8. Know that creativity doesn't necessarily understand a deadline. Keep working. The good ideas will come--eventually.