I wore myself out editing in March and in bad slow-motion camera work I crashed head first into a nasty writing rut.  I stopped writing everyday, which had been the source for my creativity.  I also got (don't tell my husband I am admitting to this) grumpy.   Funny how not doing something you enjoy can make you feel unhappy.
Children's Books, Writing Tips
Courtesy of Caroline's Crayons
The first step to getting out of a rut?  Google "getting out of a rut," of course.  Which brought me to Lifehack Blog for 12 Useful Ways to Get Out of a Rut.  I was too melancholy to process 12 tips, so I used these 4 to claw my way out of my writing rut:

1. Work on the small tasks.  Maybe now is the time to work on the one line pitch for the manuscript.  Update your twitter picture.  Buy some new envelopes.  You may not be finishing the manuscript, though these little steps are at least moving you in the right direction.

2. Upgrade yourself.  Read the Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market.  Read the blogs in your feed.  Attend a webinar or conference.   Join a Linked In group for writers.  Inspiration can be hiding anywhere.

3. Remember why you are doing this.  Oh yeah, writing feels great!  It's balancing the endorphin-producing creativity and the life-zapping editing / querying which is tricky.  You want to introduce yourself as a writer one day and that means some hard work.

4. Find some competition.  Set a goal for an upcoming competition.  Work on a writing prompt.  Pretend you are battling with Jacky Davis for the next great book!

Thank you to My Name is Not Bob's April Platform Challenge, I got the push I needed to write.  I was able to get my fix just by writing down my bio and goals.  Now that I remember the euphoric feeling writing creates, I am back to writing every day.   We all get in a rut once in a while, but there's no need to punish yourself by not writing!

**The lovely drawing above is by Caroline at Caroline's Crayons