Tag Archive for: stress

The Write Life: Writing Is Struggle

Writing has been extremely difficult this month. I’m sure many writers are feeling the same way I am. It’s been hard to focus and harder not to despair. And as the month wore on—and maybe you started processing your grief and frustration—here come the holidays to serve up more distraction and stress! But the thing is it’s not actually too different from other writing times because, as we all know, writing is struggle.

Writing Is Struggle

Getting your thoughts on the page can be a struggle. Telling a coherent story that entertains others can be a struggle. Writing a character who is likeable but flawed can be a struggle. Creating characters who don’t all sound the same or are propped up by cliches can be a struggle. Building a rich world without info dumping can be a struggle. Writing beautiful sentences with engaging images and varied syntax can be a struggle. Using correct grammar can be a struggle!

Finding time to write can be a struggle. Building motivation and momentum in your writing life can be a struggle. Focusing during your writing sessions can be a struggle. Drafting a work to its end can be a struggle. Keeping your attention on a single work can be a struggle. Dealing with your technology and computers and lost data can be a struggle. Organizing your notes and research can be a struggle. Fact checking your real-world details can be a struggle. Writing to your market or your genre can be a struggle.

Finding an agent can be a struggle. Pitching your story can be a struggle. Designing covers, or even just inspiration mood boards can be a struggle! Marketing yourself can be a struggle. Finding readers can be a struggle. Posting to social media to build a platform can be a struggle.

And that’s just the writing process! Struggle is built into fiction: conflicts between characters, between your characters and their society or environment, between nations, ideologies, and technologies. The obstacles characters face are what stories are about. Even the coziest books contain problems and struggle, though they might be as simple as running out of an ingredient and needing to take a trip to the market, or being worried about how a requited crush will react to a kiss.

Writing is inherently struggle. It’s baked into the finished product, so it’s no wonder we face so much struggle to write our stories. And maybe—just this once—we can view all that struggle as a good thing. We writers know what struggle is. We know what it means and how to deal with it (even if dealing with it includes a good cry or a frustrated scream). We are experienced strugglers and we still manage to write.

So, while you are mired in the struggle, know that writing is struggle and that it’s something you can deal with. I believe in writing, and I believe in you.

 

 

For full access to The Write Life and more about what I’ve done to assist with my creative life, sign up on Patreon for $1 or more per month. You’ll also receive a personalized thank you in a future edition of The Write Life.

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The Write Life: Writing With Distractions

I doubt I’m the only writer who’s been feeling a little distracted this month. It can be difficult to keep writing with distractions. Writing requires a lot of energy, focus, and motivation to both tap into your creativity and then translate your ideas into words other people will understand (and enjoy). So when distractions pop up—especially when they’re on a grand scale—it can be almost impossible to write.

Almost.

If you want to keep writing with distractions, here are three things I’ve done in the past month to shove distractions aside and get some writing done.

Three Tips for Writing with Distractions

Exit Your Normal World

Just as a character exits their normal world and enters the special world of a story, so too can you leave your normal writing setting behind and find a new place to write, at least for an afternoon.

After several days of feeling extremely distracted (and anxious) and failing to fully focus, I cleared an afternoon for an outing. I ran some errands and then swung by a bookstore. After wandering the shelves to settle my nerves (and uh, buying a couple books), I grabbed a table in the café and sat down to write.

Going somewhere different—and especially giving myself a relaxing activity beforehand—helped me feel ready to transition into my fictional world and get some work done. I felt great writing, and I still feel good about the work I did that day. Other outings with my writing group have been effective this month as well, so just get out and write somewhere else for a bit and see if relocating helps you find your focus, too.

Fun & Games

The middle part of a novel is all about the promise of the premise—it’s the fun and games that are the real draw of the story, the thing that gets readers to pick up the novel in the first place. Just like how you have to fill your novel with that kind of promise, you can find focus by filling your life with that kind of fun, too.

I started using a new tracking app for my to-do list and putting “write 250 words” on my list encouraged me to clear space in my brain so I could mark the task as completed and earn rewards. Rewards! Fun! Also cute little outfits for my to-do list character.

I’ve also been working jigsaw puzzles with my mom which has been a great way to get my brain to focus on something other than the chaos of the world. Once I was fully focused on the puzzle (and then frustrated by not figuring out where several pieces went), I could shift that focus to my writing. Stealing my focus from a fun task has has been a great way to keep writing with distractions.

Allies

Anyone embarking on an epic quest (writing included) needs to surround themself with allies. This can be a posse, a tribe, a gang, a trio, or whatever other moniker you want to give to your writing buds. But those pals are going to be the companions that help you reach your goals and beat back the distractions so you can triumph!

Writing with friends has always been one of my greatest tools for finding focus. Physically (or virtually) sitting with other writers who are writing encourages me to set aside my distractions and get work done. Okay, sometimes we chat more than we write, but then we’ve relaxed, had a nice time, and all feel guilty together before refocusing on our work.

 

The distractions and frustrations will sadly still be there once you’ve finished your writing session. But if you can find a way to silence their power for a little bit, you are most definitely a writer-hero.

 

For full access to The Write Life and more about what I’ve done to assist with my creative life, sign up on Patreon for $1 or more per month. You’ll also receive a personalized thank you in a future edition of The Write Life.

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The Write Life: Writing from a Dry Well

Woof. As far as months go, this one has been stressful.

I’d like to claim it was good stress, the kind that causes me to dig deep and get things done, but mostly it was the kind that drains my energy and leaves writing time as struggle time.

Boats on a dry river.

Photo by Chester Ho on Unsplash

Other responsibilities, lots of piling work, emotional decisions, health concerns, invitations to socialize, and an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion all left me with a case of creative burnout. I struggled to translate thoughts into words. I felt like I didn’t have the time to devote to complicated projects. I was easily distracted and found making narrative decisions a challenge. Some days I looked at the open document and just sighed heavily and felt a gigantic “no” welling in my chest.

Those are tough feelings to carry as a creative, especially one working on their seventh consecutive year of daily writing!

But I am still working on that streak, so I was able to write, despite drawing from a creative well that felt scraped clean.

  • One of my tried-and-true methods of writing when I’m feeling drained is to work on something easier. “Easier” for me often means blog and Patreon posts or other nonfiction writing. Sometimes it also means planning a novel, rather than drafting one. (Writing a synopsis that can meander and have terrible ideas is a lot easier than crafting scenes that have to connect.)

    Frequently if I can get 10 or 20 minutes of the easier project done, I’ll feel warmed up enough to tackle the more complicated project, or I’ll have hit a word count that makes me feel comfortable spending time on a project that involves thought more than words. (This is the trade-off for having yearly and monthly word count goals, by the way.)

  • Another method that frequently works is to grab a writing prompt and start something new. A writing prompt is a fresh start with no baggage. That level of freedom can be easier to interact with than a project I’ve been contemplating or working on for a long time. Sometimes those doors opening to an empty space feel more inviting than a half-decorated room, and it’s easier to put pen to page and draft some words to warm up for the day.

    I admit, when I first started using prompts this way, I struggled with feeling like I was wasting my time because not all of those starts turn into finished stories. It required a shift in my thinking to allow myself room for creative play and to accept that sometimes what I need is free range across a blank page with no expectations—including no expectations of producing finished work. (That said, I have turned at least one prompt into a finished story in the last year, and there are a few others I’m still thinking about, so that’s not a waste at all!)

  • Writing long-hand instead of working on my computer is another way of freeing myself. My computer is where so many of my responsibilities live, so sometimes it’s distracting to use as my main writing tool. (That’s also why I try to do tasks in specific locations—editing at my desk, writing in my bedroom, etc.) Switching my writing tool can unlock the part of my brain held captive by my exhaustion and other responsibilities. A notebook, or sometimes my iPad, can offer a different view on what writing looks like and provide the fresh water I need to refill my creative cup.

It’s been a struggle to write daily this month with everything else going on, but day by day I’ve been getting it done by using one of these tools when things got a little tough and I needed to rely on something more than my own stubbornness.

 

 

For full access to The Write Life, sign up on Patreon for $1 or more per month. You’ll also receive a personalized thank you in a future edition of The Write Life.

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