Life happens. Maybe you got scheduled extra hours at work or maybe the kids got sick or maybe you had a social event you couldn’t skip out on. Either way you missed a day of writing, then two, then many. Before you knew it, you were out of the writing groove and unsure of how to get back into things. Luckily there are some different things you can do to get back into writing.
- First, don’t beat yourself up. Guilt about not writing or whether you’re any good kills productiveness and creativity. Don’t give into guilt.
- Get back into writing mode by reading. Pay attention to the words and mechanisms the author is using. What are they doing well? What would you do differently? Reading is a great teacher. Read like a writer and get inspired.
- Just start writing. This is the most important step. Set a timer for 15 minutes and freewrite or write about a character in your WiP. This doesn’t have to go into your story, it’s just to get the words and ideas flowing. Journal about how you’re struggling or about your goals for this week. Just write.
- Give yourself permission to write badly and keep going. All your sentences seem clunky and awkward and that’s okay. Keep writing. You can always edit a bad page, you can’t edit a blank page. This gets said a lot because it’s so very true.
- Do writing sprints. Write as much as you can for 10 minutes. Find a writing buddy to do a challenge with. Take a break, and then start again. Pretty soon the words will flow on their own.
- Sit down to write as consistently as you can. Make writing a habit (if you are able to) and establish a routine. Even if you can’t write every day, it helps to dedicate intentional time for it. Try writing once a week and see whether you can add more or not. And do not pressure yourself with what you should be doing, there is no such thing as should (because should according to whom exactly????!) and just keep trying. Trying is succeeding.
Welcome back to writing. What tips do you have for getting back into the writing groove? Share below and happy writing!
Julia