Here are some sources for writing inspiration:

• The Time is Now, weekly writing prompts from Poets & Writers
• The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice by Kelli Russell Agodon and Martha Silano 
• The Writer's Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination by Jason Rekulak
• Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

BIC Writing Group

I started this writing group at Willamette University in 2015 because I wanted to model a daily writing practice for my students and ensure that I had dedicated time to work on my own writing projects. I began by taking up residency in the campus coffee shop and inviting students to join me. I brought a prompt (sometimes), but most of the time we wrote whatever we wanted. Every day, with a fistful of BIC pens, our official group writing instrument, I would settle into a threadbare couch to see if the muse (or anyone else) showed up. It worked! Now that I no longer teach at Willamette, my students are continuing the tradition of daily writing practice by turning BIC into a truly student-run organization.

Here are a few things I learned from this experience:

1. I don't need absolute quiet in order to be able to concentrate. I've learned to tune out the loud discussions of last night's party as I write.
2. I don't need my ergonomic leopard print desk chair and a perfectly organized desk to be able to think straight. I just need to pick a chair, any chair, and get my butt in it.
3. I don't need BIG IDEAS to begin to write. What I do need is a habit, a cup of coffee, and a few other people who are expecting me to be there.
4. I don't need a well-stocked office, the newest laptop, or a two-week residency in a backwoods cottage (though that would be really nice). Forty-five minutes, five times a week, a composition notebook, and a pen: these are sufficient.
5. These meetings are a chance to connect (with others who care about writing) and to disconnect (from coursework and email).