The last few months have been difficult for so many people. From social isolation to injustice to economic uncertainty, and of course the fear of getting very sick, the world has been turned upside down. So what do writers do? What does anyone do? Non-writer friends insist that I must be getting done much more writing than usual because I now have lots of time on my hands. But time (even if you have it between taking care of personal issues, working a job, looking for jobs, and the many other commitments that pervade through a pandemic) is not the issue. For me, my greatest obstacle has been mental health, constant dread, and sometimes an inability to even think about writing poetry. But as I've found my way back to writing, I have learned several lessons about myself as a writer and about dealing with the world around us. It is no small task writing when the world is falling apart. So, here are some of my thoughts on dealing with writer's block in uncertain times.
1. Don't beat yourself up
If you are having a hard time writing, it makes sense! It's beyond difficult to perform basic tasks and taking care of yourself, let alone getting inspired and organizing your thoughts into art. Some people will push themselves beyond their limits and come out of quarantine with fluency in two new languages, a new skill, and however many loaves of sourdough they can make. But this isn't the case for most people, myself included. Some days it's hard to even get out of bed. Some days I know I won't be able to write. And that's okay. You aren't a lone writer on an island feeling this way. You are still good enough and strong enough just for making it through, and you are still a writer even if you don't write all the time.
2. Take measured breaks
I recently saw a post circulating on Twitter that essentially said "Taking a break from writing will hurt your productivity and you will lose your motivation." I completely disagree. It is so important to take time to take care of yourself, and you are not something that should be neglected for the good of your writing (we'll tackle the Suffering Artist trope another day). Should you give up writing entirely until the pandemic is over? No. We don't know when that day will come or what it will look like. But when you are jammed up, taking a walk to clear your head or reading a good book to feel inspired is often just what you need to feel good enough to write again. Know the kind of break you want to take, whether it is for an hour, a day, or a week, and make that time intentional. Breathe. Care for yourself as much as you care for your art.
3. Write anything
You don't need to write your masterpiece in the middle of a crisis. Can you? Sure! But does all of your writing need to be something worth publishing, or even worth showing off? No! I have been trying to jot down ideas I have whenever I have them, just to see if something worthwhile will come of them. But for the most part, my ideas are more jumbled or not as substantial as I intended and I don't submit them to lit mags. Does that mean that nothing was accomplished? Absolutely not. The very act of writing right now is an accomplishment. Writing something, anything at all, gets you in the habit of writing rather than worrying about the quality of your ideas. Even the most unlikely words, memories, or nuggets of inspiration can blossom into beautiful works.
4. Don't get stuck
Writers are very often their own worst critics, and it's easy to spend hours slaving over a piece because it isn't exactly how you wanted, there is a phrase that isn't perfect - something that will leave you frustrated and without satisfaction. There are a few solutions to this problem. One way around this is to use the phrase that still isn't perfect, leave it alone and call it a draft. You'll still come back to it and make it just as you wanted, but you don't need to spend the rest of the day agonizing over one or two lines. You acknowledge that it's not perfect yet and show yourself that it's okay. Another way is to not focus on only one piece at a time. I'm in the middle of writing at least three poems at once right now - none of them are perfect or done, some of them might never be perfect or done, but it isn't the end of the world. There are more words to be written, more stories to tell. Don't let one hold you up.
5. Stop "researching"!
Okay, so I'm especially guilty of this one. When I write a longer story, I will want to have everything in my setting exactly correct, every character named something deep and meaningful, and to know every fact about how every kind of 1800s ship worked, looked, and felt before even daring to write something about the sea. While researching can be helpful in crafting a story, "researching" used as procrastination with no end in sight will only push your story further and further away and leave you tangled in the details. This is also a warning against too much worldbuilding. While some Tolkien-esque writers will thrive on worldbuilding, language-writing, and map-making, sometimes it's just a rabbit hole. Especially these days, the siren call of endless research and planning stops me from writing because it's easier for me to absorb information than to put my own ideas on paper.
These are some ideas that have helped me to get back into a more regular rhythm of writing, and I hope you find them helpful! If you have any writer's block tips for these extraordinary times, please feel free to share them.
Well wishes,
Julia
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