Most writers don’t make enough money to drop the day job. It’s depressing, but it is what it is. Most of us are trying to juggle our desire to write with daily life and all that comes with it; day jobs, family, friends, chores, blogs, cooking, eating, sleeping, reading, television…are you exhausted yet?

 

Unless we’ve gotten that big fat contract, we have no other choice but to write “on the side.” This requires us to find time that’s just not readily available to most of us. For example, I get up stupid early every day, even on the weekends, to get my writing time in. Sometimes I get up after everyone’s asleep to either continue writing, or finish something not related to writing so I can find time the next day. Lately, even when I do this I don’t have time to write or edit any of my work. Yes, occasionally life plots against you and the time simply is not there, not every day anyway. In my case, other things have seeped into my precious writing slot that can’t be rearranged or ignored, and there’s not a lot I can do about it unless I just give up sleep entirely. When I do get a chance to sit down to write, it’s often a chore. I feel like crying through most of it because my brain just doesn’t cooperate. I want to write. I need to write. However, the words just aren’t there. Is it a block? No. Writer’s block does not exist. The ideas and the inspiration are there, but my brain isn’t able to put them into a coherent order.

 

But this won't last forever. I’ve been here before.

 

New writers work and work and work. We dream and we plot, and we deny ourselves even the tiniest break because we believe that if we stop, even for just a moment, we might miss that golden opportunity. The intensity in which we plug away at our dreams forces us into thinking we only get one chance to do this. And we just keep hammering away.

 

The problem is, eventually our endurance wanes, our attention span decreases, confidence goes on vacation and our goals look unattainable. This is all before becoming published, which makes it depressing as well as exhausting. And then we hit a wall. The ideas are gone. A single sentence is agony. “Oh no,” we think, “It’s writer’s block.”

 

As I said, writer’s block is a myth. The reason you find it so hard to write is mostly due to fear. You’re afraid you won’t finish, afraid no one will like it, afraid you’ll never get published, afraid you’re simply not good enough…see where I’m going? This fear isn’t based in fact. It’s our self-doubt and fatigue combining to make us try to justify why we do this to ourselves. We imagine a future that we can't possibly predict to scare ourselves into continuing. We’re trying to prove that we’re worth the risk, that we are real writers.

 

Stop. Breathe. As long as you continue to learn and to grow as a writer, you are always worth it. Besides, it’s not how long the journey takes that’s important. It’s where you stand at the end.

 

Don’t write with your mind on the future. Just write. If that means you get ten words today, so be it. Tomorrow you might write twenty, or fifty. You might not. It's okay. The words are there and they've alwaybs been there. Once you stop worrying about whether you’re wasting your time, or whether the story you’re hammering out will ever be read, the words will come. If they don’t, ask yourself why that might be, and do not settle with “writer’s block” as an answer. In my case, the reason writing is such a struggle at the moment is that I’m tired and I’m scared. I’ve been at this a long time and with every rejection, I’m afraid that I’ll be at it longer still. My biggest fear is that I’ll be stuck in the same place forever. I don’t mind working, as long as I know I’m moving forward. In this industry, movement is in such small increments that sometimes it’s hard to see.

 

I hammer out 3000 to 5000 words per day BEFORE I get to write fiction, because writing is my job. That’s on top of housework, kids, friends, asshole dogs and cats, and all that comes with my glamorous “real life.” All of this is my choice. No one puts a gun to my head and forces me to write. I chose this path, but I don’t want to freelance forever. I want to move on to the next step. I want that 5000 words to be part of a story I want to share. However, my ambition and desire to get to the next step in this journey are starting to work against my goals. I need a break.
 

So if I recognize this, why have I let it get to this point? Stupidity, stubbornness, pride, fear, or possibly the inability to admit defeat. All of these things? Any of this sound familiar? Don't tell me it's just me.

We’re all afraid to look weak, but remember that there are degrees of success. Don’t beat yourself up to achieve the ultimate goal right out of the gate. Aim for the simplest one, and climb steadily from there. Finish the novel. It doesn’t matter if it takes two months or two years, just keep at it. When you’re done, congratulate yourself. That’s a huge achievement. Yes, the manuscript might be a glorious pile of shit, but it's your pile of shit, and it is indeed glorious. The real writing comes with rewriting anyway, so don’t worry about bad or good just yet. Take a break. Enjoy your real life for a while, then go back to that lovely, finished pile of shit and carry that good feeling into the editing process. (Believe me, you'll need it.) If you act as though it’s impossible to fail, it will be. Small victories are still victories. It’s as easy as that.

 

Each time you feel you need a break, but can't quite force yourself to take one, keep in mind that while writing shouldn’t be easy, it shouldn’t make you feel depressed, anxious, or negative in any way. It should be exciting, challenging and rewarding. If you feel none of these things, you’re not suffering a blockage; your brain is saying “Stop. We’ve had enough.”

 

As for writer's block, it's a fantasy writers indulge in because it takes the responsibility for our mistakes from our shoulders. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that anything but your own choices have brought you to the point you're at today. If you have nothing left to give, allow your body and your soul time to regenerate. Once you feel a little more like your old self, and that story you left in limbo starts to haunt you in a good way again, then return to writing. It might take a week, a month, or even a year. When it's time, you'll know. Returning wth that old enthusiasm, makes it easier to recall that you loved this writing thing.

 

When you do get back in front of the keyboard, remember that it doesn’t matter if what you write is shit, just that you write something each day. The more you write, the more you’ll be able to write.