Here I am at one of my favorite bookstores, Washington Street Books and Antiques in Havre de Grace.

As a writer, what interests me more and more these days is the creative process. Where do our stories come from, and how do we put them into words?Let’s face it, being a writer requires more than a little inspiration. Even professional writers need a healthy dose of the I-word now and then to keep their creativity on track.   When it comes to success, we know all about that 99 percent of perspiration. It’s the 1 percent of inspiration that needs constant renewing.

These days, in these times, it’s not always easy to find the hours off or the money for workshops, conferences or graduate programs that are the best source of inspiration for writers. Yet there are other ways of getting the creative juices flowing.

Inspiration doesn’t have to cost much and you won’t have to go farther than your favorite chair — or maybe your library or your bookstore. To give your creative writing a jolt, you just need to be, well, creative.

What you need is a “Writer’s Stay-cation.”

Can’t afford that writer’s workshop in Maui? Then set aside a weekend, a day—or even a single afternoon—for the writer’s version of the “stay-cation.” Call in sick, get mom or the hubby to take the kids off your hands, and whatever you do, for God’s sake stay away from Facebook!

And don’t forget snacks.  Snacks are very important! Hungry people can’t be expected to think straight. Get a pot of coffee or tea going while you’re at it. Caffeine clears the mind.

Use this hard-won time to reconnect with your reasons for writing. How? Follow this three-step process. Let’s get started …

Read. I know, I know. You’re supposed to be writing! But this writer’s stay-cation is about inspiration, not production. So head to your bookshelves, or the ones at the library.

I’ve recently heard this called “booking,” and it’s something I’ve been doing for years. Here’s how it works. We all have shelves filled with our favorite books. We saved them for a reason, but we don’t always have time to revisit them. In booking, you make time. First, pour coffee. Then poke around your bookshelves. Take down that volume of poetry or that mystery novel, and “dip” into it. No, that doesn’t mean reading the whole book from the very first page. No time for that! But revisit that scene you loved, or that bit of description, or just flip open the book and start reading at any point. You’ll soon remember why you saved this book, and why it’s so easy to get reacquainted, as if with an old friend.

Think. I don’t know about you, but I always seem to think best when my hands (or feet) are busy doing something else. Ideas like to simmer, like soup on the back burner. So go for a run or walk, stain the deck, weed the garden, fish, bake cookies. Do something that is the opposite of mentally stimulating. But don’t spend that time plugged into an iPod or strategizing your next shopping trip to Wal-Mart or worrying about how you’re going to get your daughter to eat broccoli. Think about your novel, your poem … the story you want to tell. In other words, give your hands and/or feet something to do, and your brain tends to do a good job of simmering all on its own.

Write. You’ve been reading. You’ve been thinking. It’s all good. Now get out a pen and paper—not your MacBook, lovely machine that it is—and write something. Come up with 10 first lines for a short story/novel/memoir. Write a rhyming couplet in iambic pentameter. Sketch a character. Write down your thoughts on your son’s birth or your first kiss. What did the joy of holding little Joey that first time feel like? How did Susie Hunter’s lips taste? Describe that experience as best you can.

Congratulations. You are putting words on paper. You are writing. It’s not always easy, but sometimes the hardest part is simply getting started, and that’s what an inspirational “Writer’s Stay-cation” is all about.