The writer’s balancing act

Ways to rediscover lost creativity

Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash

I’ve been away*. Not away from home, or the day-job, or stress, or life admin. I mean away from writing, away from Substack, away from creativity. The kind of awayness that comes from the, at times, overwhelming realities of jobs, relationships and family, money stuff, the grind of day-to-day responsibilities. The hard graft of keeping all the plates spinning.

It's inevitable, this kind of awayness. But when the balance tips too far the result is guilt, frustration and anxiety – negative feelings that curtail our ability to be productive.

For me it also leads to the disease of comparison - that sense that everyone else, all the other writers in the world, have got their shit together more than I have. They seem to be racing ahead, getting writing out into the world, impervious (seemingly) to the pressures of life. And then inevitably comes self-admonishment - if only I was capable of working harder, get more organised, writing quicker, then balance could be achieved. If only I was better, then somehow I would ‘catch up’.

Sound familiar?

The antidote starts with the knowledge that ‘this too shall pass’. That sometimes there’s going to be other stuff that prevents you from being your creative self, but it won’t last forever. Holding that thought tends to create a bit of space to push back against the negativity, and figure out some more positive ways to do things, rather than just feel bad about yourself and your writing.

And here’s an update, hot off the press: today, finally, I wrote something. I made a space, I sat down, I wrote. 778 words, to be exact. It’s got pace and energy, it’s a little melancholy, it is a rough draft, rough in the way only first drafts can be. But still it felt good. I have no idea, yet, if will come to something, though as always, when I finished writing, I made that little bit of extra time to go through the mess, and find a few places, a turn of phrase, a description, a snip of dialogue, where I felt something was good and had energy.

If I can do it, trust me, so can you. Here’s half a dozen suggestions if you feel like the whole shebang of writing is drifting away from you.

Accept the situation

Acceptance first of all. We can’t be superheroes, slowing time, being able to ‘do it all’. We have to accept that sometimes, we need to pace ourselves, accept the situation, take a breath, do what you can do and keep the flame alive a little bit.

Find Clarity

Thinking that you need to get on with writing all the projects that have stalled, or that you must finish the book, or that big edit, doesn’t help. Instead, breaking things down in more manageable stages works best. Baby steps is a cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason.

Be more flexible

You may have to do things differently to your ideal writing routine. You may have to change what you perceive as success at this time. You may hae to be flexible about your productivity. And remember that not all writing is sitting at a desk stuff – some of it is about finding a brief time just to be in a creative frame of mind. Giving yourself 20 minutes to half an hour strolling around while mulling a story can work.

Lean into support

Writing is so much harder when you try to do it all alone. Sharing fears and frustrations, getting some encouragement where you can find it, all helps. Just remember that often people want to help and support you much more than you think they do.

Don’t beat yourself up for not doing it right

When we are stuck or finding it difficult to find motivation or whatever, then we may be tempted to turn to the great unwashed of the internet who will tell us about simply having to write X number of words per day, or daily writing, or just doing something every day or whatever the flavour of the month is. Well, that’s great, but doesn’t take into account reality. Do what works for you, and don’t beat yourself up if you write something one day and then don’t do it again for a week or a fortnight. There’s no point, and there’s no best practice. Yes, ideally it would be great to write every day, to push aside everything else, but sometimes that’s just not possible and actually, that’s okay. It’s life.

Realistic Optimism

The right attitude can go a long way. I’m not one for chest-beating, in-your-face positivity. But, as far as writing is concerned, I am trying out realistic optimism. Part of that means trying to remember that feelings of guilt, anxiety, frustration and all the rest are not going to change anything. They are reactive, not proactive. So, I am swallowing some of my natural cynicism and thinking of ways to be more proactive and let go of the reactive. Maybe I’ll share more on that next time, because – being realistically optimistic – there will be a next time….

*Apologies to my subscribers for the absence over the last few months. I will be making efforts (keeping all the above advice in mind of course) to start more regular posts again.

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