How to Be a Writer When You Can't Write

HEALTH UPDATE: My surgery went well, and tomorrow is my 4-week after mark, but I am still restricted with what I can do for another 2 weeks. First, no signs of malignancy! But when I saw my doctor for the follow-up, the first thing he said was, “Wow. You were the real deal!” He added that what he had to do was very extensive and that he wished he had brought me in for surgery sooner. There was a LOT of endometriosis. Everywhere. There was so much that my organs were a bit misplaced, so when they got done, my organs shifted back into place. He said my uterus “sprang” back. They removed the "chocolate" cyst from my right ovary, and they also had to do something with my colon and remove something from the outside of my intestine. So, yeah... lol 

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There are times when you may struggle to write, not because you lost the ability to physically write, but rather that you’re suffering from writer’s block (the condition in which an author loses the ability to create new work or slows down creatively) or writer’s burnout, which is more extreme than being blocked and involves a disconnect between you and writing; the love is (hopefully temporarily) gone, replaced with physical and mental exhaustion…sometimes even emotional exhaustion.

During these instances, writing at all can be more than a struggle but an outright challenge. I find that it’s best to not push myself or put pressure on myself to create, but not being able to write makes me feel worse and further burns me out. Depression can also be a significant factor, as it usually is with me. That’s how my writer’s burnout started. Soon, the burnout was feeding my depression and vice versa in a vicious cycle. The important thing for me was to continue to feel like a writer even when I wasn’t actively writing on a story.

Below are several tactics that have been useful to me that you can try.

5 Ways to Be a Writer When You Can’t Write:

1. Read

This is just about the easiest thing you can do when you can’t write for whatever reason. When we read, we are taking in words—lots of them. And those words are inspiring us. They can help us heal, invigorate our creativity, and spark new ideas. Read anything that interests you, and it certainly doesn’t have to be fiction, and I would also recommend that you do not read anything in the genre of the current work-in-progress you’re struggling with. Doing so could increase your anxiety, especially if you start to compare your work to the books you read. Instead, read outside your preferred genre(s).

Read non-fiction if you’re a fiction writer.

Read children’s books, middle grade, or YA if you write for adults only.

Definitely read books about topics that interest you, even travel guides.

Read and explore.

Turn the pages of books.

Reading is a big part of being a writer, so bust out that library card or go to a used bookstore and let books be your medicine.

2. Research

This is pretty similar to #1 Reading because you can consume many books in your research quest. You can research subjects that once captivated you when you were younger. For me, I had loved anything to do with mummies and Ancient Egypt. And when I had writer’s burnout, I read several books about Wicca.

Seriously, no judgement!!!

Research anything.

The bonus is, you could end up getting a great idea for a story or a character inspired by all of that research.

You can also try doing writing-related research. Check out books about writer’s block, inspiration, and creativity. But nothing too heavy, like books about marketing or publishing, that can load on the pressure and make you sink lower into yourself and your stress.

3. Write a Sentence

Just one sentence. Flip to a random page in an encyclopedia and point at one of the pages. Whatever word your finger lands on, write a sentence using that word. This doesn’t even have to be a sentence for your current work-in-progress, either.

Or you could use a random word generator like RandomWord.com and write a sentence with a new-to-you vocabulary word every day.

Try weird word lists and write a sentence with a whacky-sounding word or words that have funny or strange definitions.

Any writing counts!

4. Journal

Write about your day, your struggle to write, your worries, your fears, your hopes and dreams. Try to write a full journal page a day. Remember, any writing counts. You can even use your journal pages to write through plot or character issues.

5. New Hobby

Sometimes the best thing we can do is to take up another hobby altogether. This new hobby can bring you back to the page renewed or inspire a story that revolves around that hobby or a character who enjoys that hobby. Most of all, you can have fun.

If you can take on a hobby that has to do with your current work-in-progress (I once took archery lessons for a story I was writing), all the better.

Whatever you have to do to feel like a writer, do it, especially if actual story-telling is difficult at the moment. The most important thing is that you believe in yourself and tell yourself you’ll get back to where you used to be—happily creating.

And you will get there again.

You will.

QUESTION: What do you do when you struggle to write?