1. You keep trying to tell made-up stories, but they aren’t helping you escape from your real world.
2. You have a lot going on right now, and making writing a priority just doesn’t seem possible.
3. You don’t feel important.
4. There are so many writers, and it doesn’t feel like you have anything worthwhile to add to what’s already being written.
5. You thought you would have accomplished more by now. It doesn’t feel like it’s happening fast enough.
6. No one has told you whether or not your writing has made any difference to them.
7. Writing is hard, and it’s not always easy to put excessive effort into something that takes consistent practice over a long period of time to yield results.
8. You’re running out of new ways to challenge yourself, and your routine — and the writing itself — feels stale and unexciting.
9. You’re barely motivated to do the essentials. Is writing really THAT important right now? (Your answer depends on what you need in order to feel OK in this moment.)
10. There are so many people out there writing better than you. Will you ever be like them?
11. You’re so distracted. You can’t focus. Writing requires paying attention … and right now, you just can’t. And that’s okay.
12. You’re tired. Lonely. Unsure. You don’t know if you should keep going. But hopefully you do. Hopefully you don’t give up yet, and remember why writing is such an important part of what makes you who you are.
Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is an editor and writer, and a 12-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food, and Star Wars.
Meg Dowell Writes 