“I know I should write, but it’s just that...I haven’t in a while and...ugh.”
You hear things like: “I write 2,000 words per day, every single day.” “I completed my twelfth book in three months.”
People who are that accomplished aren’t human. That’s the only explanation.
Maybe you like the idea of being published and have some ideas that should be out there in the world, but you get overwhelmed and frustrated with yourself when you think of sitting down to write, and so you don’t. Until eight months go by and the nagging has built up to the point that you tell yourself that you will sit down for two hours on a Saturday to make some progress. The Saturday comes and either A) you stare at the blank screen for two hours, trying to kick yourself but almost nothing happens, or B) something comes up that needs your attention and the promised two hours of writing time is traded for something that’s, let’s be honest, is easier.
Writing is fueled by two things and you absolutely need both.
First, obviously, you need something to write about.
An idea, premise, a mental image that’s interesting, a character that has a story, a what if question you want to answer, or a world that you’ve imagined that you want to put some characters into and see what happens.
Second, less obviously, you need the right emotions.
Creativity will flow best when you’re excited by ideas or are feeling happy and content. True, you can still write when you’re not feeling “up to it.” But that level of discipline is something to work up to. Baby steps. Before inspiration, you need happiness (or whatever you call that positive emotion that makes it so impossible to frown). You could also call this emotion is playfulness. Having fun.
You need both these things to move from “wanting to write” to “writing.”
Be intentional about getting excited about something. Fill your mind with ideas and media that are fun and exciting for you. If it’s not interesting or exciting, it’s not for you. What would happen if you combined the world or characters of favorite movie with favorite book? What if you changed the setting of __? What if these characters decided to __ instead, how would the story end differently? If only people knew about your nonfiction idea, their lives would be better.
Fill yourself up until you’re overflowing and it feels impossible to keep yourself from writing. It might take days, it might take months. You’ll know you’re ready for when someone interrupts you because you’ve been gushing about nonsense, but you want talk about __ for two more hours!
Once you get to this point, write for 24 minutes and then stop.
What do you write? Write run-on descriptions about the thoughts and ideas you’re excited about. Write an incoherent list to answer the what if questions that have been bouncing around in your head. Write the super juicy scene in your head when she sees him. Write the heart-wrenching moment when he discovers the truth.
Still having trouble? You might have anxiety about writing on the computer. Write by hand in a notebook you don’t care about or on the back of scratch paper. Don’t buy a beautiful notebook that intimidates the raw wild ideas that want to flow out. If you want to get a new notebook, get something that’s funny or something that, when you’re holding it, you can’t take yourself seriously.
After the 24 minutes is up, continue on with your day. Within two to three days, give yourself another 24 minutes to build off what you started. What if the magic locket didn’t just give her the power to see the future, but it also cursed her with __? What if the father wasn’t actually “dead?” What would happen if, instead of using words, they had to use __?
Whether it’s tomorrow or next week, don’t wait too long between moments of writing/ brainstorming. You’ve found momentum. Use it. Five minutes once a week will get you further than three hours once a year. Try it. Before you know it, the little bits add up and up and up until you’re doing the impossible.
If you hit a bump and you feel like writing is an uphill climb, refuel with craft books, more stories in your favorite genre, and/or talk to the other writers in your boat. Try things that other writers/authors do that you like. Try a different story structure, writing method (pantser or plotter?) or even get out your shovel and pickax and mine a different genre for new ideas. Find writing help articles and books about character development, character arcs, writing dialogue, writing prompts... There’s so much out there. So much to explore! You never know what you’ll find that might spark something cool!
That writing thing is your thing now.
