We all have a myriad of reasons why we aren’t getting the writing done. Some require a large dose of grace to put the work down until a better time arrives (illness, death, moving, etc…). But other roadblocks are barriers we put up ourselves.
Ah writing, where the writer is both the protagonist and antagonist.
The most common barriers I hear from writers for getting the work done are TIME, KNOWLEDGE, and MINDSET.
“But, I don’t have enough time!”
I don’t mean to downplay the struggle to find the time to write because I know many of us are strapped for time between jobs and kids and commutes and caregiving responsibilities.
BUT…is there honestly no time for your writing? Before you immediately answer, you need to get really honest with yourself about three things:
1 – How are you actually spending your time?
To gauge how you are truly spending your time, I invite you to use a time tracker for a week. You can use an online tool (I use Toggl, but there are lots of options) or you can simply write down everything you do on a piece of paper or in a spreadsheet. It’s important to note the start and end time of each activity as well as still include all the things you may suddenly be embarrassed about doing (do I really check Instagram that many times a day or get lost down a YouTube rabbit hole of actors eating hot wings after watching the presentation I originally went on for?).
When you have compiled a week’s worth of data, highlight the things that you absolutely can not change (I’m thinking time at work, commute time, classes/volunteer commitments, exercise time, family time, eating, sleeping, etc). Now, look at all the non-highlighted times. Anything surprise you?
When you have a clear picture of how you’re actually spending your time, you can make adjustments to make time for writing. Perhaps you don’t need to scroll through social media at lunch, or there is time in the evening when you usually are watching TV. You don’t necessarily need to book every free moment of your time with writing–in fact, please don’t. I am a firm believer in the need to rest, relax, and literally do nothing (hello, I own a porch swing). We all need time to recharge, but are there blocks or pockets of time that you are spending on activities that aren’t filling you up creatively?
2 – How much time do you need to write?
Many of us have a romantic idea in our heads of what the writing life looks like and compare our own productivity to this ideal.
Maybe we think “writing” is leisurely mornings with a bottomless cup of coffee and 2,000 words added to our manuscripts or it is going full-on Thoreau in a secluded cabin where we write an entire draft because of all that magical quiet time (forgetting that he had friends over and a mother who brought him food and did his laundry). These versions of writing aren’t realistic for most of us.
I think writing is a little bit like exercise: doing a little bit each day is better than not doing anything at all. So find the writing equivalent of taking the stairs instead of the elevator. That might mean setting a timer for 15 minutes after dinner while your spouse does the dishes. Or being intentional about when you pick up your phone–instead of getting that dopamine hit checking TikTok on your commute, jot down five story ideas based on people/things you see on the train. Adjust your expectation of the time you need for writing and simply start writing in the time you have.
3 – What are the consequences if you don’t write?
Chances are, nothing external. But I bet you feel guilty or ashamed or frustrated when you don’t honor that part of yourself. It’s so easy to let ourselves down instead of others. Chances are the items on your time audit that you highlighted as things that can’t change are all things you are accountable to someone else for (a boss, your family, a pet). Take another look. Am I right?
But aren’t you just as important as all these other people in your life?
Now may be a good time to include an accountability partner in your process. Despite my son knowing he needs to practice his trumpet to improve his skills, he still needs to complete and turn in a practice log each week for band class or else he wouldn’t do it. Do the same–turn in a log of your writing time to a writer friend, keep a calendar on the fridge where your family can see and give yourself a sticker for every day you write, or ask a friend to check in on Sunday nights to see if you’ve hit your weekly writing goals.
One more thing about time…
Before we leave the topic of time behind, I do want to acknowledge that you may have the physical time but a demanding job or personal situation may leave you with limited mental capacity at the end of the day for writing. Give yourself grace here and simply commit to a creative pursuit every day. That could be coloring in an adult coloring book while watching television to unwind at night. It could be putting on a new-to-you musical artist while you’re cooking dinner. It could be listening to a podcast on writing (the #amwriting podcast and The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing are two of my faves) during your commute or errands. Or maybe it’s just reading a poem or two before bed each night. Fill your creative well when your mental meter is low. Be on the lookout for when your muse starts knocking again and start small: jot down a few lines in a journal at the start or end of your day, create a place to store story ideas or snippets of overheard conversations on your phone, sketch out a character or setting. Take baby steps.
“But I don’t have enough skills yet!”
This assumption that when we don’t know enough we can’t even start reminds me of when one of my sons was learning how to ride a bike without training wheels. Of course he tipped over the first time. His initial response? Essentially: I guess this whole bike riding thing isn’t for me. Luckily, we convinced him to try again (and again and again and then one day, it just clicked and off he went speeding down the sidewalk to meet up with his friends). We told him he just couldn’t ride without training wheels YET, not that he would never ride without training wheels.
Writing, like learning any new skill, also requires a growth mindset. Of course we can’t spit out Hemingway-esque prose when we first sit down to the computer. We have to write badly. A lot. And then fix it. There are best selling authors whose first drafts of their novels are total crap. We just don’t see them. We don’t see the drafts that have been thrown away, scratched through, marked over with red pen. We only have the benefit of seeing the finished, polished work that has passed through endless rounds of read-throughs and edits (don’t believe me? Read any author’s acknowledgements page).
Overcoming this barrier requires acceptance that we aren’t writing geniuses at the start (or ever, we just get better at shining our work up over time) and humility to find help when we need it–from craft books, courses, writing groups, critique partners, editors, etc… While this barrier often feels the worst, it’s the easiest to solve. We can always learn more.
“But I can’t/shouldn’t/am afraid to…”
Whether you call it imposter syndrome or doubt or fear, there is an aspect of your mindset that is keeping you from the page resulting in procrastination or a laundry list of to-do items that suddenly take priority in your schedule.
Writing requires vulnerability on the page and vulnerability in the writer. That is not the easiest thing for most people to do. As writers, we are mining our own emotional lives and insecurities to speak truth through our characters. Our inner critic is going to try to clamp down on that urge real fast: What if our weird starts to show?
As writers, we need our weird to show. We want our weird to show. Unfortunately, that can create a big disconnect between what we want to accomplish on the page and the internal mechanisms that have kept us safe in the social world for years.
Write like no one is watching…because guess what? No one is!
Writing allows you to do whatever you want on the page. You have the utmost freedom. Remind your fear that you don’t have to show your writing to anyone. Give yourself permission to write whatever your heart desires–whether that’s writing in a style you think is off limits to your ability or an open door sex scene or an emotional moment that has its kernel of truth somewhere in your own past. You can decide later whether you’ll actually seek feedback/publication/whatever it is that your brand of fear/doubt is so afraid of.
If writing is your dream, don’t be your own worst enemy. Dig down and be honest about the things that are standing in your way. Don’t be surprised if it’s a little bit of all three to varying degrees. Identifying how and where each of these barriers trip you up will help you alter your route and keep you on your writing path.
I love working with writers to find their individual barriers and the personalized solutions they need to climb over them. Need a little help identifying your barriers? Book a free discovery call or shoot me an email and let’s figure out what’s holding you back!