I’m Not Writing, and it’s Okay.

If there’s one thing we writers hear constantly, it’s “you should be writing.” We say it to ourselves, we say it to each other, we post it in memes and on sticky notes affixed to our laptops: Why aren’t you writing?

Ninety-Nine percent of the time, this is good. It’s our way of keeping ourselves and each other moving forward. Most of us need that swift kick in the backside, or we’ll never close Netflix and write instead.

But there’s an unintended side effect to this beloved cheer–one that can...