How I Write When Everything Stinks

Unsolicited advice for creatives that doesn't include cold-plunges.

Nov 05, 2024

Like many of you, I'm concerned about the election, and it's contributing to a general feeling of unease. I'm not going to talk about the election today.

I am going to talk about how I navigate the stress of this type of situation, you know, ongoing unrelenting and simmering anxiety that underlies all our daily life, and still get things written.

What's the opposite of a trigger warning? Insert that here:

I will not be talking about reducing social media time, ice plunges, nutrition, or anything else that's steeped in self-improvement culture. You know where to find that kind of advice.

Editor's Note: How I get writing done when everything stinks

Again, this is just what I do. You don't have to do any of this. You don't even have to read this. But please do. Okay, here we go:

My daily set.

Journal
Exercise
Words

These three things end up at the top of my bullet journal every day. They're the things I do to get everything else done. The days that I pay attention to these things first, I feel grounded and focus is just a bit easier to drop into. I journal 2 pages in my graph paper composition book, which comes out to around 500 words. I've been taking brisk 1/2-hour walks lately, because the pace and the timing fits my schedule right now. Finally, I look at or think about my current work. I don’t have a current goal toward each of these other than to pay attention to them and do them. Preferably first thing in the morning, but whatever.

Not a whole lot got done the day before Halloween around here. I did get my words done that evening. And pay no attention to the state of my keyboard. I know.

Ask for help and feedback.

I hold myself and my writing to very high standards. I know that my work can be spectacular, and when I get to a place where I feel like I'm not reaching my own standards, it's helpful to reach out to a friend or colleague to get a reality check. Because my standards are so high for myself, I may be dithering over a single word or phrase that no one else notices. A former boss asked me to consider whether my 80% is everyone else's 100%. That usually helps me move on or ask for feedback.

Walk away.

I know I've been talking about my novel for a long time (because novels take a long time to write), and part of that is because I wanted to hold onto some story lines and some ideas that just were not working. They were part of the original version(s), but they no longer fit with the updated ending. Walking away from this work for a little while was incredibly useful to figuring that out. I don't know that it would've happened any other way, honestly. I walked away, started two other projects in the meantime that may or may not go anywhere. When I came back, I saw how the puzzle pieces fit. I didn't have to convince myself, I just moved the words.

Collaborate.

If you can, take on a project that involves actively working with another person to get the desired outcome. I'm currently working on a project with an art director and a marketer, and the collaboration that we do energizes me and makes the rest of the ding-dong-ery of working with people that much lighter.

Again, these are just things I do in order to get something written every day, either for work or for my novel. Take what resonates, and leave a comment if you’ve got something else that works for you!

Folded Sunset

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