Getting in the mood. What does it take to keep up?

I have not been in the writing mood lately. At least, I have not been in the mood to write creatively for some time now. This would be my first semester at university where I have not had any assignment that has asked for me to create a piece of creative writing. So, I have not been in the mood to write a piece that is based solely on creativity rather than some research assignment or reflection paper. I love writing, really, but not all writing is created the same.

This is why I became a creative writing minor, because it is so much easier for me to write a 10 page short story than a 10 page research paper. They really are not comparable. I can turn to my computer with an idea for a story and in not that long of a time I am done. However, a research paper involves a lot more time and planning to execute a thoroughly explanatory paper. These are the type of papers I have had to write recently, and they have not been getting me in the mood to write creatively.

I'm not sure if I have any muses to my writing, or what it is that triggers a creative work for me. I used to write down small little pieces of a conversation that I would hope a character would say, or summarize a type of scenario a character would get involved in. I often wrote down word pairings that would sound good as a title to a story. From these small pieces, I would then expand and write my story. I have not written anything down recently.

I really do not know if it is writer's block or laziness. I would think that if I had the time to focus more creatively then I would get back my enthusiasm for it. I am hoping that this is not a sign of losing my passion for creative writing. I will just have to wait it out and see when my mood will come back to me. I think the best thing to do during this time is to read creative works from others, because then at least it will get my mind to thinking creatively. So, I will be doing that.