Re-Entering the Craft: How to Get Writing Again After a Hiatus
Every writer has periods where the craft falls by the wayside for one reason or another. Mental health issues, family commitments, work, and even a simple loss of enthusiasm or inspiration - all of these things can cause writers to put down the pen for a while. After this kind of hiatus, it is common to find that your writing skills have become a bit rusty - the average pace of writing may have slowed, and more complex scenes could be clunky or awkwardly written as you try to readjust and get your writer brain moving again.
Oiling the proverbial gears and hinges of your brain and getting the words flowing again can be tough, especially the first time you experience a hiatus or writing drought. While every person is different, there are some simple things that are generally effective at helping writers to get back into the swing of things.
10 Ways to Get Your Writer Brain Back in Gear
The brain is very much a muscle (despite being mostly jelly, electricity, and water), so when you use it to do something complex, like writing fiction, it needs practice to build its strength. Writing is such a brain-intensive activity, in fact, that writing therapy can be used for those who have suffered brain damage as a result of trauma, illness, or accidents.
So, it makes sense that trying to dive back into complex world-building and fiction writing after months on hiatus could prove challenging. These simple steps could help to stretch out those brain muscles and get you started once more:
An oldie but a goodie, as my gran would say, and definitely a cliche for a reason - brainstorming ideas is one of the first things I do when trying to get out of a rut. Pen on paper and a collection of gel pens, felt tips, and highlighters to make any schoolgirl proud generally helps, too, because even if inspiration doesn't strike, I get to be a little creative.
Sometimes that's the first step - find some way to be creative, any way at all. Sometimes I even scrapbook or make mood boards - not only does this lift my own mood, but it also gives a creative outlet when the writing-centred part of my brain isn't firing on all cylinders.
Freewriting is a wonderful way to simply get used to the mechanics of forming sentences and getting them out onto the page once more. It could also help you to figure out what precisely is making it so hard for you to write.
There's a reason that freewriting is often used as therapy for those with trauma and mental health issues, after all - it can be a very useful way to order your thoughts and expose otherwise hidden issues.
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