I swear they are putting something in the mushroom soup these days.  A few weekends ago I made green bean casserole.  You know, the kind your elderly Aunt brings every year to Thanksgiving Dinner to go with all the fixings.  I pulled the recipe off the net.  Later that night I tossed and turned, but could not sleep.  Stumbling around in the dark looking for the light switch, I knocked my clipboard onto the floor with a clang.  I keep said clipboard on the bedside table just in case I have some inspiration in my noggin while sleeping.

Found the light switch, picked up the clipboard and a pen; then started writing.  I wrote and wrote myself to sleep.  Better than counting sheep I must admit.  The next morning I got up bright and early. O.K. before noon anyway.  Examining the clipboard and typing at the computer, I posted on all three blogs I publish.  It had to be the mushroom soup.

The other day I had mushroom soup with a salami sandwich for lunch.  After lunch I went for a long walk, as I am apt to do in an attempt to divine some writing inspiration.  As I walked I developed a great concept for a fantastic children’s book.  Had I remembered to bring a few index cards and a pen, I would not only have written the whole book, but would have drawn the characters as well.  And I cannot draw to save my life.  It must have been the mushroom soup.

There is something wrong (or right) with the mushroom soup we are getting these days.  I imagine the little gnomes that pick the ‘shrooms, basket in hand, must have been skipping down the hill in the forest when all of a sudden they stumbled and rolled into the wrong mushroom patch.  When they all awoke, they picked these mushrooms and hustled back up the hillside to the Soup factory before the foreman (probably a troll) could scold them for wasting time.

As you surmised,

Mushroom Soup

Shh. Don’t tell your cubicle neighbor, but I’m heating some mushroom soup up in the microwave, right now.  Got the saltines already open.

Cheese

Yes that’s right, cheese.  Doesn’t matter what kind.  Gouda, Swiss, Cheddar, Morovski, Muenster, Mozzarella, Colby, Pepper jack or one of your favorites.  Cut off a nice chunk and gobble it before bed.  You will have some of the weirdest dreams.  I came up with a concept for a novel that I admit would be a dreadful read, but in a good way.  Each time I have a hankering to finish off a chapter I have a pop of cheese before hitting the hay.

James Joyce…stream of consciousness, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Where’s Daisy? Hemmingway…the bullets whizzed by my head.  We the living.  Who’s John Gault?  As I lay dying. A gnome followed me to my hovel.

Whew. Sorry! I think I have tureen syndrome.  Soups ready.

The Web

Scout out sites like Twitter, Digg, Reddit or even Face book for the latest news trends.  You will be surprised at the ideas you may come up with just by noodling through.  Visit news sites that have a comment board for ideas and inspiration.  Earlier this year I visited the Market watch site and read a piece on the Auto Industry going to Washington, D.C. with hat in hand for taxpayer dough.  After reading the comments, I developed a post on how GM could save itself from the dust bin.

Soup is very good!  Hmmm. What do you put on saltine crackers?  I prefer butter.  Could you imagine mushroom soup with cheese on top of the crackers?  We could probably write a Solzhenitsyn novel.

Walk

Go for a nice long walk.  This helps clear your mind and get the blood flowing.  It helps you focus.  By observing your surroundings you should be able to come up with a few writing ideas.  The words will flow.  Wouldn’t be nice if they had frequent walker miles?  It would be nice to call them in for prizes and coupons.

There you have it.  A few home remedies for writers block.  I have either made you very hungry or helped a bit with writers block.  Hmm, Hmm good.