Do You Force It?
If you've ever written anything of any length, you've probably run into times where you sit down at the keyboard and... nothing happens. Or maybe you don't even make it to the keyboard at all, 'cause you're just not feeling it. It's not writer's block, you know what you need to write, you have an outline, etc., but the motivation to put them down just isn't there.
What do you do?
Answer you don't want: it depends.
Answer that is the answer: it depends.
For me, the next book I publish will be my seventh. I'm at a stage where I've done this before, so I know I can do it. It's not a lack of experience or confidence that keeps my fingers from moving, it's usually something else. Writing the fifth (and sixth) book(s) in a series, sometimes the feeling that creeps in is that I have to do this, rather than want to. Which is weird, because I very much want to! My characters deserve to have their story told, I want to share with you what happens, but with the publishing of Book 4, the series crossed half-a-million words. Published words. I couldn't tell you how many I've cut. That's... a lot. Add on to the fact that these books are tough to write, and sometimes my brain just nopes out.
Most times, I give my brain a stern talking to and force myself to sit down and get the words down. Even if they're crap, it's something that I can edit into readability later. But on occasion, you just have to take a Mulligan. Just accept that it won't happen, and go do something else. There's always blog posts to write, reviews to submit, social media, all that stuff (that I have to do anyway) can be done instead of writing when it'S just not happening.
And that's okay! It took me a long time to be able to let myself do that without then beating myself up afterwards. If you force it too often, it can actually be counterproductive. You can start to dislike doing the work at all, and then you'll end up even farther back than you started.
But if you're just starting out, I wouldn't recommend doing the above until you understand your own habits and mental situation. Maybe you need smaller word count goals. Or you're just lost, and need to outline more. The important part is developing consistent habits, so the reasons you're struggling will become more apparent. If you don't know what normal is, how are you going to understand what's abnormal, let alone why?
Know thyself. I think as writers, this is one important thing that gets overlooked when you're starting. Maybe you can't do 2,000 words a day, maybe you're not a gardener-type after all, there's lots of things you can tweak about your habits until you're consistent and happy. There's an old stereotype about writers all being miserable alcoholics, but it doesn't have to be that way. I mean, it shouldn't, right?
Write what makes you happy, not what the Kindle charts say is popular. Write as many words as you can do every day, not just when the muse is whispering in your ear. Whatever you put down you can fix. The 'save' button isn't the 'publish' button! No one is going to see the garbage! Walking on a treadmill is still exercise; just because you didn't end up on the top of a mountain doesn't mean you didn't hike.
Sometimes forcing it can lead to breakthroughs, but sometimes it can just lead to breaks. Get a feel for which one it might be before you choose what to do.
Know yourself. Forgive yourself. Just don't give up.
What do you do?
Answer you don't want: it depends.
Answer that is the answer: it depends.
For me, the next book I publish will be my seventh. I'm at a stage where I've done this before, so I know I can do it. It's not a lack of experience or confidence that keeps my fingers from moving, it's usually something else. Writing the fifth (and sixth) book(s) in a series, sometimes the feeling that creeps in is that I have to do this, rather than want to. Which is weird, because I very much want to! My characters deserve to have their story told, I want to share with you what happens, but with the publishing of Book 4, the series crossed half-a-million words. Published words. I couldn't tell you how many I've cut. That's... a lot. Add on to the fact that these books are tough to write, and sometimes my brain just nopes out.
Most times, I give my brain a stern talking to and force myself to sit down and get the words down. Even if they're crap, it's something that I can edit into readability later. But on occasion, you just have to take a Mulligan. Just accept that it won't happen, and go do something else. There's always blog posts to write, reviews to submit, social media, all that stuff (that I have to do anyway) can be done instead of writing when it'S just not happening.
And that's okay! It took me a long time to be able to let myself do that without then beating myself up afterwards. If you force it too often, it can actually be counterproductive. You can start to dislike doing the work at all, and then you'll end up even farther back than you started.
But if you're just starting out, I wouldn't recommend doing the above until you understand your own habits and mental situation. Maybe you need smaller word count goals. Or you're just lost, and need to outline more. The important part is developing consistent habits, so the reasons you're struggling will become more apparent. If you don't know what normal is, how are you going to understand what's abnormal, let alone why?
Know thyself. I think as writers, this is one important thing that gets overlooked when you're starting. Maybe you can't do 2,000 words a day, maybe you're not a gardener-type after all, there's lots of things you can tweak about your habits until you're consistent and happy. There's an old stereotype about writers all being miserable alcoholics, but it doesn't have to be that way. I mean, it shouldn't, right?
Write what makes you happy, not what the Kindle charts say is popular. Write as many words as you can do every day, not just when the muse is whispering in your ear. Whatever you put down you can fix. The 'save' button isn't the 'publish' button! No one is going to see the garbage! Walking on a treadmill is still exercise; just because you didn't end up on the top of a mountain doesn't mean you didn't hike.
Sometimes forcing it can lead to breakthroughs, but sometimes it can just lead to breaks. Get a feel for which one it might be before you choose what to do.
Know yourself. Forgive yourself. Just don't give up.
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