1. You’d rather watch FRIENDS reruns. Honestly, who wouldn’t?
2. You’re tired. Take a nap and try again.
3. You’re hungry. Eat some tacos.
4. You just can’t get into it. Try switching to a different project.
5. You’re burned out. How have you not learned your lesson by now. Get some rest.
6. Your cat is bugging you. Feed her and maybe go write something about cats. Other fur and human children also apply.
7. You have too many ideas. How do you pick the best one?
8. You’re having an “everything has already been written about” moment. Take a deep breath. Write something anyway.
9. You want to use your creative energy for something else. That’s great — take a night off of writing and do something else. It might inspire you to write later.
10. You’re bored working on the same thing. Work on something else for now. Something is better than nothing.
11. You’re doubting yourself. It’s OK — we all are (probably). Keep going anyway.
12. Your fingers feel like they’re going to fall off. Relatable. Go get a hand massage.
13. You just finished a Big Project. AWESOME!! You have earned some down time.
14. Your friends want to hang out. GO BE SOCIAL. Just, not all the time.
15. It’s a beautiful day. Write outside! Make it work!
16. You just don’t feel like it. Actually, that’s a terrible excuse. Go write anyway.
Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a staff writer with The Cheat Sheet, a freelance editor and writer, and a nine-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food and nerdy things.
Meg Dowell Writes 