Writing about writing has always been one of the ways I tear myself out of a particularly persistent writer’s block. So here we are because I haven’t written in an obscenely long time to write about how annoying it is to not have a real writing schedule and having no one to blame but myself. Fun!
Writing is hard. I liken it to exercise in that you have to motivate yourself to do it consistently and you’ll only get stronger the more you do it. Me? I’m severely lacking in the writing and exercising departments so go me!
I’ve spoken with so many other writers who have been able to get over this horrible slump and who actually stick to writing on a regular basis and I always whine to them about how hard it is and beg them for a cure-all remedy to my woes. Of course, the answer is literally always the same, you have to just do it. Carve out time during the day you’re going to be the most productive and just do it. Just doing it has been the bane of my existence for years. I get distracted. I get despondent. I get depressed. I get annoyed. I get frustrated. I get stuck.
I have a reminder set on my phone to write every day for an hour and all it does is remind me I’m too exhausted or too unfocused to actually do it. When I get home from work I immediately go into chill-out mode and, pointedly, chilling out does NOT include writing anything as it would involve an amount of effort and mental energy that has long since been drained out of me that day. So instead of thinking of ways to overcome that persistent after work fatigue I succumb to it and blame myself for not being stronger or more energetic or more dedicated to something I really enjoy doing once I get passed that initial guilt. The very best part of this whole process is there’s nothing that can shake the cycle but you, so it makes you feel all the more shame when you fail to succeed.
After all these years of calling myself a writer, I still have no i-freaking-dea how to properly set my self up for success and continue to beat myself up for not writing as often as I “should.” I’ve come to the understanding that regardless of how many books I read or how many folks I talk to ultimately I need to make writing more of a priority and also be more forgiving of myself. It’s taken me a number of years to realize this and I know it will take me some time to actually execute a realistic plan.
I guess I’m writing this as a reminder to myself and anyone else out there struggling to write more, you’re not alone. It’s definitely a process and it’s something you’ll need to figure out for yourself in time. Don’t beat yourself up and just steal away little moments to write when you can if hour blocks are unrealistic. We all have different ways of doing things and figuring out your own writing path shouldn’t be a shame-fest, but it will definitely be a journey of highs and lows.
I’m going to try a few different methods to get myself back in the swing of things. Some things that helped me were:
Setting aside a half-hour or 15-minute blocks to write instead of hours
Journaling in the morning commute
Reading (fiction) - the right book can definitely be motivating
Stop blaming and start doing - snapping out of the guilt trip and working on a plan is much more rewarding and makes me a lot less cray cray
Carrying a little notebook around everywhere to jot down even just words or little phrases you overhear
These small actions help me when I’m down in the writing dumps. Hopefully they help!
I’ve also joined a bunch of writing meetups (I still need to go) to see if writing with other people will help motivate me. I will report back!
Gotta keep writing. Just do it.
