Recently, two poet friends of mine expressed an interest in completely giving up on all things literary. Their latest poems were consistently rejected, they weren’t inspired to create new work, and frankly, they weren’t seeing the benefit of engaging in the one thing they previously enjoyed. It happens to us all.

Inspiration isn’t something you can fake; that is, you can’t force a creative epiphany or revelation. But you can create optimal conditions for these kinds of “sparks” to occur. That’s why I created Socratic Journaling in the first place — my students approached the blank page with dread, and they needed a push to get something going. And while simple prompts can often generate work that feels forced or generic, arriving at a subject on one’s own can yield pieces that are authentic and rewarding.

Enter the Socratic Journal — a workbook intended to get people thinking about themselves, their minds, and their experiences. By creating ladders of inquiry, creativity naturally flows from the mind as answers and questions feed off one another. And those questions and their answers often reveal to the writer previously unexplored topics, good for essays, poems, and a variety of other products.

I even had one student, a high school girl, who still claims Socratic Journaling changed her life. It allowed her to think about her own thinking so much that she figured out her issues and personal problems without other helps ( disclaimer: if you are suffering from a serious psychological illness, always consult a professional). But by writing out our thoughts, our big inquiries, and our desires in a systematic fashion, sometimes more than creative inspiration can occur. Knowing ourselves better is a reward of its own.

Whether you’re a writer, a teacher, or simply someone who’d like to learn more about yourself, the Socratic Journal is a wonderful resource to help you get unstuck, both creatively and mentally. Summer is a great time for self-exploration and understanding, and by asking and answering the big questions, who knows what improvements might occur? Give it a try!