Gaps

"Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time…The wait is simply too long." Leonard S. Bernstein
 (musician).

Though some lucky people are just brimming with ideas and are always in the right mood to put them on paper, I definitely have long waits between bursts of inspiration. Some handy things that helps me during the gaps are writing prompts.

*This one  helped me recently to write a 3.5-page story: "Write an incident about an umbrella--one that jabs and stabs, protects, introduces your character to someone, or..." The umbrella was the right kind of random, and the words jabs, stabs, and protects grabbed my attention. Characters ran up to take their places at the tolling of that story bell, and pretty soon a plot (which is the most reluctant to make an appearance for me) emerged, too.

You can find prompts all over the Internet (plus apps). Try one if you're stuck in a gap! :)

*Example taken from page 5 of So You Want to Write a Novel, by Lou Willett Stanek, Ph.D.