i always go to pen and paper when things dry up - manual expression lends itself far more, 'embodies' even, art output. it's like free association, or doodling, it's more intimate, more real, more private, less judgemental, slows you down and is a 'space' with no contrraints or boudaries. it's far more relaxing too. it also allows one to use a different part of the brain too, because writing is a reflex and that information is stored in the spine so by passes conscious thought, so we can fully engage our visual cortex which is a primary area of the imagination - similar also to driving a car, all our visual senses come into play and we switch off our 'critical' brain and engage our 'play' brain.