Writing should be enjoyable and a reflection of your creativity. Sometimes we can all find ourselves having lost the spark and then we are trapped in a cycle of procrastination, guilt, and self-doubt. It seems easier to give up than to get back into the groove. This happens when we lose sight of the fun in writing, but you can get it back. In this week’s video, Amanda explores this common issue and how to overcome it by remembering how to love the act of writing in itself and find the fun in writing again. If you prefer to read your writing advice, continue below the video link for Emily’s thoughts on the subject.
About a month ago you may have noticed a new name appearing in these blogs. Hello! I’m Emily Thrash. After working with Amanda on individual projects for a few years, I am thrilled to join Page & Podium full time to support our amazing authors. (This also means we have more availability for new coaching clients!) If you feel strongly that you’ve got a book in you, but just aren’t sure how to get it done in a reasonable time frame, I’m here to help! For the next few weeks, from August 6 and September 13, if you sign on for our Editor in Your Pocket package, you will also get 50% off any one of our ala carte publishing services. So not only will you get a one-on-one book coach to help you get to that fully finished draft, but a huge savings towards one of those important next steps to bringing that book all the way to market.
Symptoms of the Slog
The Distraction Phase
When writing starts to feel like it’s the last thing you want to do, it is going to be the last thing you’re going to do. This is true for professional writers with deadlines and writers who have deeply personal passion projects they have wanted to complete their whole lives. There is always something else you can do.You can make calls for appointments or clean your bathroom or plan the menu for the week. Often we tell ourselves that those things we’re just doing to get out of the way, to clear the way for us to be in the mindspace to write. But then our time is eaten up, and then we have to move on to something else, because by then it’s dinner time, time to pick up the kids, or even just time for bed.
In the video, Amanda describes the alluring distraction of a quick jaunt around social media. I am definitely familiar with that eater of time and we can tell how many millions of others are by how many adult-oriented, time-limit apps there are available to install on your phones. One time, I was sitting down to write when I noticed the vent in my office was absolutely choked with cat hair. I thought to myself I’d just take care of that real quick, and two hours later I realized I was now wearing my cleaning gloves, scrubbing away at the bottom of my toaster oven. I had eaten up my entire writing time block, and there passed another day where I hadn’t worked on my personal project.
The guilt that kills the fun in writing
I realized that I had some thinking to do, because when scrubbing grime feels more satisfying than writing, something has gone wrong. It’s easy to then get into a headspace that the writing itself is what’s wrong. The spiral of negative self-talk can start up. You might feel like no one really cares if you’re writing this book and if it’s this hard, it must be because you’re just not good at it. Then you might feel guilty for letting things get in the way of what you’ve thought for a long time you really want to do. You probably have dozens of tricks for making yourself produce words–we have listed dozens of them ourselves in previous posts! But when you’re in the slog, it never feels like enough. It’s not enough to give you that satisfaction that will carry you through the harder times. Beating yourself up about setbacks and getting into the slog is not going to get you out of it. In fact, it’s just going to make it worse.
Looking for the prize too soon
Writing a long form book is a task that doesn’t always give a high rate daily satisfaction from outside sources. There are sometimes weeks and months between times we can share with pride what we’ve written–and even then it’s still not actually done. Sometimes we can get focused on the end result too soon in the process. When you’re writing, you’re also likely reading about process and publication. You’re thinking about how it’s going to feel when that book is out in the world. That can be motivating in it’s own way, but focusing on it too much too soon is asking a lot of yourself. You may be 20-30 difficult and time-consuming steps away from those exciting, finalizing stages. If if you can’t feel any fun in writing between now and then, it’s naturally going to take all the wind of out your sails.
When we start thinking too soon about the end game, we can find ourselves in the mindset of just “knocking it out.” If you can just “knock out” the rest of the writing, then you can to the fun part. There are many things you can “do “knock out” with a good night’s rest and a large cup of coffee. You can paint a bedroom. Reorganize your closets. You can do your taxes and make all your necessary health appointments for the next six months. (Yes, these are all examples of things I’ve done with carefully generated knock-it-out energy that were not writing.)
Nothing that we “knock out” are fun things to do. They might be satistfying, but they’re never fun. We can make ourselves do something hard and not-fun if the satisfaction is going to be pretty soon and pretty reliable. If you’re in the slog, you’re probably beating yourself up for not getting to that finishing satisfaction fast and efficiently enough. But all that does it makes the whole process feel more punishing, and if doesn’t bring that finish line any closer.
Finding the Fun in Writing Again
When you can treasure the fun in writing, it’s so much easier to make progress that you feel good about. You can always will-power your way through 500 words. And then another 500 words. But wouldn’t you rather feel the joy and reward all the way through? Not only is it easier, it’s actually more effective. You are a creative person, and if you can reconnect with the joy of creation we can not only make progress that you want to see, but enjoy it for its own sake. In Amanda’s video, she walks through six solutions to adjust your mindset and rediscover the fun in writing.
Solution #1: Finding the bright side of your subject
This solution is especially true if you’re writing about periods of trauma in your life or a heavy and difficult nonfiction topic. These topics are so important to write about, and living in that space for long periods of time can weigh you down. It can put you in this space where it’s hard to find the joy and fun in the writing. But for every topic, there is a corresponding bright side. Sometimes we need to step back and think about why we wanted to write about the heavy topic in the first place. Think about the beauty of recovery, of connecting, of healing from these heavy things. Making that your north star can help you reframe the way you approach your writing time, and will also encourage you to be gentle with yourself as you wrestle with those painful elements of your topic.
Solution#2: Focusing on who you serve
There’s someone out there who needs your book. Picture that person, that ideal reader who you want to communicate this big set of ideas to. If you’re trapped in thinking of the prize that you’re not enjoying the process, you’ve probably lost sight of who who you are trying to connect with in your words. When you sit down to write, think of the person and enjoy the connection you’re building, word by word.
Solution #3: Give yourself permission to play
When we think of play, it’s often the opposite of what we think of as “productive.” However, play is productive! We learn so much from letting go of having every word we type be final. We know it’s not going to be final anyway, so why not mess around a little bit? Experiment with different formats or creative exercises. Write a scene as a script, use colored pens, or create illustrations. This playful approach can reignite your passion for writing.
Solution #4: Connect with other writers
Writing is a lonely task. Reach out, find a writer’s group or a message board or however best fits into your way of connecting. Offer your help. When we can connect to other writers who are also in the same process as we are, we can remind ourselves that there are others going through the same thing. The hard parts and the slog are a natural parts of writing, and others will be experiecing it too.
Solution #5: Enjoy the process and identify what can be fun in writing for you
Reflect on what you love about writing. Whether it’s learning new things, seeing your words on the page, or checking off to-do lists, focus on the joys of the process. For me as a fiction writer, I love the imagination. Imagination is the part that feels a little bit holy to me. Sometimes when I’m exhausted from a day of producing words and I get to my personal writing block, I will instead of actually writing, I will act it out. I might record it or I might not, but I’m going to spend a fun hour living in the space of my characters. Whatever it is that gives you that fun and satisfaction in the moment, make that a priority. (Even if it doesn’t feel like the most “efficient” way to do it.)
Solution #6: Take yourself on a creative play date
Writing is a creative activity, and sometimes along the way, it can lose that creative joy and fun. Step totally away from the book and do something that engages that expressive and creative fun part of your brain. It might feel counterintuitive, but you can recharge your creative energy by spending it on something else than what is making you burn out. When you can remember what that part of you needs and feels like, you can better understand how to nurture it.
Make the fun in writing the reward
This is a bit of a seventh bonus solution from me. In many of our advice videos and posts, we talk about scheduling and really protecting your writing time. When you start off, this feels easy to do, because you’re scheduling time for yourself. But soon, because it’s for yourself, it becomes the first thing to be rescheduled. We can reframe this by thinking of it not just as time for yourself, but time you deserve. Time you owe to yourself to do what you love.
