Let’s face it, some days, you just don’t feel like writing. Maybe you had a weird dream, woke up on the wrong side of the bed, have a lot going on in your personal life, or, maybe your inspiration is just being a bitch and hiding from you.
Whatever the reason, every writer has been there. It’s a totally normal – albeit annoying – part of the process.
Unfortunately, writer’s block can also seem to happen at the worst of times, so you may find yourself at times needing to write even when it’s the last thing you feel like doing. Yes, even when you’re self-employed, this can happen!
And also unfortunately, as I’ve talked about in past articles, if you are self-employed, if you aren’t doing something, it’s not getting done. And I’m sure I’m not the only writer to pull a, ‘Oh, I’ll write it tomorrow’, and then have ‘tomorrow’ turn into another day, or week…. or month.
So, what can you do if you have a looming deadline, the guilt of pushing an article/story has been eating at you long enough and you just need to get your writing done today?
Step 1. Open Your Laptop As Soon as You Wake Up
Make going on your laptop and opening the document the first thing you do when you wake up. Yes, before breakfast, coffee, morning yoga, or whatever else you usually do. The only thing you should allow yourself to do between your feet hitting the ground and opening your laptop to work is go to the bathroom. (Because let’s face it, no amount of willpower will let you power through really needing to pee)
This way, there’s nothing to distract you from writing. You haven’t started any other tasks that you ‘have to’ finish first, the only thing you need to focus on is already in front of you.
If you need to, you can even unplug/turn off your internet so you aren’t tempted to check your e-mail, play games or whatever other sneaky laptop distractions you use to continue putting it off.
Just because you’re on your laptop, doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re working, does it? That’s right, I see you fellow procrastinators!
Step 2. Just Start Writing
Just start typing. This is probably the hardest part to do. In the middle of a writer’s block, depending on the reason, you may feel slightly frozen with your fingers hovering over the keys, all semblance of a point leaving your body.
Stop overthinking it and just start writing. Chances are, you’ve been at least partially mentally writing your article for the entire time you’ve been putting it off. That means the words are in there!
Start typing and you might be surprised at how fast the ideas start to flow out of you.
Before you know it, you’ll reach the end of the article, and then you’ll feel silly for sitting around and waiting for your inspiration to come back.
It’s a harsh truth, but you can’t always wait for inspiration. (Especially if you’re writing non-fiction) If you’ve turned your writing into your job, that’s awesome! But also means you no longer have the luxury of only writing when the mood strikes.
You’ve got a job to do.
You may have noticed if you’ve read some of the other Working From Home articles, but a common theme is to just make yourself do it. You’ve gotta find the willpower/drive/whatever-you-want-to-call-it inside you. As much as reading articles may help you spark new ideas, or try new techniques, ultimately, it all actually comes down to you.
No amount of advice from a stranger on the internet is going to magically write your article/story.
You need to find a way to make it happen.
Oh, and if you got a sense of deja vu reading this article (like I did when writing it), it’s because you’re remembering my Breaking a Writer’s Block article. Which is admittedly similar to this one, but different enough it definitely wasn’t a waste of time to write a second one.
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