The 4 Biggest Challenges That Writers Face
And how to overcome them.
Being a writer is hard.
Granted, there are days when it will feel like a piece of cake: Your head is pumping out +10 ideas at once, you know exactly how you should formulate your words, and you cannot wait to hit the Publish button.
But then you have those days.
When You Don’t Feel Like Writing Anymore
Call it “writer’s block”, “losing the spark,” or “my inspiration has gone on vacation.” They all refer to the same belief:
I’d be better off without the headache that writing brings.
It’s not the cool fantasized writing we’re talking about here; the one where you‘re in a nice coffee shop, wearing vintage glasses, doing whatever writers do (sipping a double cappuccino while thinking about writing, not writing a word at all).
The writing I’m referring to is the one you face when no one’s watching.
The real mental turmoil.
I divided it into the 4 most challenging stages (plus they’re usually in chronological order):
Stage 1: The Blank Page
I don’t know what to write. It’s too messy in my head, and I cannot get started.
It’s funny how we talk about the blank page because if we peer into the mind…it’s the total opposite of blank.
It’s not that our thoughts are empty.
It’s that they are waaaay too much to untangle.
Let’s say you’re starting an article. You type in the first three lines, then your brain is telling you: “No, that’s not right. Maybe that sentence is not adequate enough. Start again! Delete that whole paragraph and let’s reiterate it in the most flawless way possible!”
Result? You end up believing you have no inspiration, but in reality, you just have no structure.
Often, the cause for writer’s block is this:
We think we should have everything figured out. But how do you figure out a chaotic mess that is the mind?
It’s never all at once. I cannot jump from the bottom of the staircase to the top. I’ll have to take one step, then the second, the third, and so on until I reach the end. Might as well come up with a writing methodology.
You could also try brainstorming, mind-mapping, journaling, doodling, talking to people, spending one hour in silence…or even better, you could scream out “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT!!!” until a random thought pops up.
That thought was about grilled cheese sandwiches? Then write about grilled cheese sandwiches.
Whatever the technique you use, the goal is the same: To disentangle the knots of your mind.
Just like cleaning a room, it’s always going to be chaotic in the beginning. But the feeling of relief when everything gets sorted out?
It’s such a nice thing to experience.
Stage 2: The Void of Loneliness
My writing is unsuccessful. No one knows it even exists, so what’s the point?
Now that you’ve uncovered Stage 1, you start wondering:
“Okay. So the writing is done, but then I’ll publish it and…no one will care.”
Fair enough. You want to be noticed. Internally, the artist would like people to say: “Wow, they feel that way? I feel the same too”. But you’ll have a price to pay, and that is loneliness.
When you’re just starting out, you’ll be invisible. No likes, no comments, no signs of anyone reading your stories.
That’s a bummer, especially in social media where you’re supposed to be ‘making it’. Next thing you know, you’re setting high expectations for yourself, such as:
I have to reach a specific number of followers by the end of the week.
My next article has to be spectacular. It has to blow people’s minds.
If no one is reading what I write, then what’s worth the effort?
Notice how these thoughts are conditional:
People read? Continue writing. No one reads? Stop writing.
But the question is: Would you still be willing to write if you knew no one was ever going to read you?
To counter that void of loneliness, I’ve set in stone that no matter what, I’ll always be my number one reader. Though it may sound selfish, I believe the best writing is the one you’re doing for yourself.
You might ask: What’s the thing I’ve always wanted to read, but couldn’t find elsewhere? Then write exactly that.
At least, you get reading material that’s tailored to you.
Also, does it really matter if you don’t come up with the most transformative, fabulous, never-seen before piece ever? I often have to remind myself that the goal is to connect, not to impress.
Many articles on Medium talk about the same things. They’re just worded differently. If you focus on having fun, you’ll definitely find your own style. You’ll be writing about universal topics, while making them personal.
That’s how you differentiate yourself.
And that’s how you’ll get noticed.
Stage 3: The Public Scrutiny
My writing will be rejected. People will say it’s bad, so I should just quit.
And now we get to the other side of the coin.
Readers start liking and commenting your articles. The more you publish, the more you get exposed. But as you move on, you realize that…
It’s pretty dangerous to write.
Essentially, a writer’s job is to display their thoughts. For the whole world to see. Imagine how vulnerable that is!
Like, who in their right mind would do that? If you’re a writer (or if you’ve ever considered writing), then good luck. Also, I guess you’re a brave soul.
Here’s the thing you’ll need to remember: creation breeds rejection. At some point, not everyone will like what you publish. Maybe for some, your work is too obnoxious. Too pretentious. Too bland. Too weird. Too cringey.
Whatever the label. If you’re afraid of being rejected, you’ll probably do anything in order to ‘block’ the inspiration:
No, not this. Start again. This topic doesn’t fit in with what I usually write. Oh no, maybe my real life circle is gonna come across this paragraph? Am I going to sound like an idiot?
Yes, writer’s block can take a toll on your self-esteem. But too often, we get fixated on the negative stuff.
The trick is to realize that maybe, maybe…your work is not so bad, and it’s not too embarrassing. If it is, then you could pretend that it’s a writer’s job to embarrass themselves, so others don’t have to.
Here comes Austin Kleon:
“Try it: Instead of keeping a rejection file, keep a praise file. Use it sparingly — don’t get lost in past glory — but keep it around for when you need the lift.”
— Austin Kleon (Source: Steal Like An Artist)
You’ve got positive feedback? Good. Keep it in your pocket.
No feedback yet? Remind yourself of compliments in other areas of your life. It could be a clothing item. It could be a personality trait. Well, these might be connected to your writing as well. They make you unique.
As much as you have the potential to be rejected, you also have the potential to be accepted and understood.
Stage 4: The Dying Flame
I’m getting tired of writing; I just don’t feel any joy in my craft anymore.
After a few years of writing, it finally paid off. You have many people that resonate with your work. You feel useful. You feel connected. You feel like you finally found your real life purpose.
But as you move on, you start feeling sort of…
Disenchanted.
Someday, if I just cross my arms and utter the phrase: “I’m bored with writing”, will I ever return to it again?
The consensus would be like: Don’t give up! You need to rekindle that flame. Try harder, do something. Aren’t you a writer for life?
But I guess sometimes, the only useful advice is to take a break. How about detaching ourselves from the “writer” status, at least for a while?
How about loosening your deadlines? If you were pressuring yourself into writing every three days, how about a week? A month? Or even a year? And the thing is, you’ll probably turn out just fine.
But beware! Taking a break is different from procrastinating. When you procrastinate, there’s usually a fear behind the desire: in reality, you know you want to create.
When you lose the spark, however, it’s more like I wouldn’t mind if I stopped writing. It’s just not my priority anymore.
To be honest, writing has always been an important activity to me. I don’t see myself quitting it for now. But there were periods in my life when I just didn’t care. Then, I felt intuitively attracted again.
I have no idea how this will unravel in a few years. Maybe there will be periods when I’ll be less drawn into it, but something in me says I will jump back to the craft, in some shape or form.
It’s when you return to each other, just like longtime friends; it feels as though you’ve always been together.
Being a writer is hard.
Since we are so attached to our thoughts, writing (= the translation of our thoughts into the real world) can get very personal. Maybe that’s why the term of writer’s block is so prevalent.
A writer has to navigate through a lot of self-doubt. But it is exactly those challenges that make the craft special.
Through writing, you learn to meet your own reflection. And when the article, the song, or the book writes itself, that’s when you can feel the magic. That’s your intuition speaking:
You were meant to express yourself.
Thank you for reading! ✿
Thanks for this Emilie. I struggle with many of these, including the fight between passion (or lack thereof, procrastination and thinking my work has to be something that moves the reader in a way that they'll never forget - LOL. Now that I wrote that out, it's actually quite silly.
I am saving this for future reference when I'm hitting a wall in my writing. You nailed it. Writing is not for the faint hearted 😄