One of my dictionaries defines inertia as the following:

1. The tendency of a body to resist acceleration; the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force.

2. Resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change.

Certainly, I have been stricken with the disease of inertia often in my life. There are various other names for this state: depression, lethargy, low energy, sluggishness, apathy, torpor, indolence, etc. But, the synonym I’m most taken with is...

WRITER’S BLOCK

I find that writer’s block is a form of inertia. There’s not an inspired thought in my head so, in fear, I decide not to write anything. Notice the verb in that last sentence: Decide. I decide to avoid writing altogether. Why write when there are pencils to sharpen, papers to straighten, clothes to wash, errands to run, oops, I’m hungry, think I’ll flip on the TV while I munch, oh this is a must-see movie... something I need to see to develop my craft... and on and on.

All this is the wandering of the mind... a downhill motion of the mind rolling along without direction or focus. But, energy is being consumed nevertheless. What is missing? I think the missing ingredient to turn the low-burning energy of inertia into a hot flame is...

INSPIRATION!

I could put the definition of inspiration here, but I want to inspire you to look it up yourself. Sometimes, it’s healthy to look up words we feel fully confident of using because it creates a new focus on that word. I think that inspiration comes from focus. If we have an intent and we keep our minds on that intent, I feel we are guided toward the fulfillment of that intent.

Here’s how it works for me. I find that there are two steps to creative inspiration – rest and activity. Making the decision toward a certain focused goal serves as the activity; then releasing that focus through rest becomes the inward stroke. That inward stroke can take the form of a nap, a night’s sleep, meditation, doing some mindless chore, something that allows the subconscious to do its alchemy. This will only work if you have planted the seed of intent and planted it intensely.

One of the best ways to plant seeds well into the mind is to write down your intent with as much detail as possible. Study it; contemplate it; fantasize it, whether it’s a new house or a new exercise program or a new story. Research it from every angle. This is creative work, but it’s not the scary creative work of filling up a page with something someone else is going to read critically. This is just for you. You know you can delete it at any time and no one will ever see it.

However, you’ve taken the first step to overcoming your inertia. Now, guess what? Inertia no longer exists. You have taken charge. You’ve created an intent and are giving it focus. As you continue writing, researching, putting down all ideas that come to you, brilliant or lame, you are planting the seed of your creative inspiration.

WHAT YOU PUT YOUR ATTENTION ON GROWS!

I guarantee you, the more you think about a thing the more you bring it into manifestation. The more attention you put on that knotty problem in your story, your character, or the lagging action in the middle of act two, the more you make your subconscious bubble. Perhaps it will feel like a block, but if you continue to contemplate it (activity) and then sleep on it (rest), the solution will come. It must! It is a fundamental law of nature.