I used to think Writer’s Block is a myth. The further I venture into my writing career, the more I’m convinced it’s more of an excuse than something made-up.
It is quite common, and therefore rational, to experience moments or stretches of what I call “brain drought.” If you’re struggling to write, it’s not that there’s something wrong with you — and it’s especially not that you’re not a good writer. But how you proceed from here — not just once, but every time you seemingly hit a creative wall — could make or break your future success as a writer.
You Can’t Write, Or You Don’t Want To?
Before developing a remedy for a creative brain block, you first have to ask yourself an important question knowing you might not like the answer. Is the problem that you “can’t” write — or is it instead that you don’t want to?
You may WANT to write in the sense that you want to HAVE WRITTEN, which is a whole other topic I’ll cover in another post in the future. But it’s very easy to confuse “I’m fresh out of ideas, nothing’s coming to me” with “actually, maybe I’m just not into this.”
And not being “into it” doesn’t mean you’re not into writing in general or that you should quit. Simply put, we all have off days where writing just isn’t going to happen — or, if you’re in a situation where writing is your job and you have to do it anyway, there may be days your writing isn’t as solid as you know it could be.
But it’s important to acknowledge when you’re having one of those off days and allow yourself to step away (or write more sloppily than usual). Sometimes writing must and can be forced, and other times you’ll be better off coming back later (or tomorrow). Which camp you’re in is really up to you.
Writing Doesn’t Always Come Easily
Sometimes, writing is hard. You’ll have those days where you can write for an extended period of time without struggle, and you should appreciate and celebrate those days. But just because it happens to you doesn’t mean it will happen to you every time.
One of the most important things to consider when attempting to overcome writing difficulties is that it may be time to accept hard work is necessary to move forward in a hobby or career. You can — and hopefully will! — always love writing. But success still depends on the work you put into the thing you love so much.
In moments where it feels like writing is suddenly impossible, take a moment to remind yourself that even in writing, challenges are how we learn and grow. If writing were always easy, we would never have any incentive to get better at it or dare to explore new stories or ideas.
Reasons You Can’t Write (and How to Respond)
So it’s a tough writing day — or so it seems. (I’m having one right now — I’ve been working on this post off and on for three hours now). Struggling to write, whether you’re having a hard time forming ideas or you just can’t manage to get them out of your head, can happen for a number of reasons whether you truly want/need to get words on the page or not. Here are just a few possibilities:
- Your body doesn’t have the fuel it needs. I know this is about writing, not health, but when it comes down to it, the two are related in a significant way. If you’re hungry, or thirsty, or you haven’t gotten enough sleep, creating might be out of the question. Try meeting some of your body’s basic needs before coming back to your draft (or blank page).
- You’re not taking care of your mind. When we’re stressed or anxious, or we’re distracted by our thoughts in a way that interferes with our ability to create freely, it’s going to feel extremely difficult to focus on putting ideas into words. If you can, try to clear your head of some of the thoughts that aren’t serving your writing. I’ve found that even jotting down things I want to remember later helps me focus on the page in front of me, but something else might work better for you.
- You’re too hung up on the details. Maybe you’re convinced this one idea is the only way to go, even though forcing it doesn’t seem to be working. Or perhaps you keep getting stuck on minor details you can go back and fill in later instead of moving on to the next paragraph or chapter. Keep in mind that you are in control of your draft, and you can always go back and add, change, or fix things later. Give yourself permission to change your mind or be imperfect and focus on just getting the words out.
- It’s just not your day. And that’s OK. Clearly today is not mine! While you may encounter situations where you have no choice but to push through and write as best you can on a not-so-great day, there will also be plenty of times where all you have to do is give yourself permission to call it a day and try again tomorrow. If this becomes a habit, well, that’s something you’ll want to do some self-reflection on. But every now and then, it’s OK not to write when you’re not “on.” Your time might be much better spent doing something that heals your brain rather than exhausting it further.
The good news is, if you’ve written before, you probably will write again — even if today is not that day. Writing is an extremely difficult thing to do, no matter how easy some people like to make it seem. Hard does not equal impossible, though. You can do this. Maybe not right now. But you can. Tomorrow. Tomorrow you will conquer your own fictional world.
Meg Dowell is the creator of Brain Rush, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words, and Not a Book Hoarder, celebrating books of all kinds. She is an editor, writer, book reviewer, podcaster, and photographer passionate about stories and how they get made. Learn more
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