There’s nothing worse than hitting a wall when things have been going well with your writing.
One day the words flow, and then BOOM! your nose is flat, you’re on your butt, and you’re looking up at a challenge that seems impossible.
Maybe you came flying out of the starting blocks for NaNoWriMo and hitting 1,667 words a day isn’t as easy as it was the first week when everything was shiny and new…
Maybe you hit a rut and now feel stuck…
Or maybe you just don’t feel like writing…
What To Do When You Hit a Wall
There are only a handful of choices available when you’re faced with a wall in the way of what you’d rather be doing.
Many people choose the following options:
- They spend time walking around it, not sure how long the wall might be.
- They try climbing and risk a fall.
- They spend the time shredding their hands trying to dig beneath the wall.
- They just give up.
The funny thing: many times, the wall isn’t as tough as it looks.
If a wall is on your way, why not give yourself credit and go through it?
A Tale of Two Artists
I recently chatted online with two artists I look up to. We chatted about last week’s entry about healthy arrogance. The artists talked about how they suffer from moments of low self esteem.
It’s hard for me to look at the things they do and imagine them feeling like their art isn’t all it can be, but I understand that feeling. I’ve had times when I doubted I had what it took to hold my own with the writers I look up to.
When I look back at those times with a clear mind, it’s not that I wasn’t talented; I was depressed. Everywhere I looked, I saw walls I knew I could climb or go through, but I was just so damn tired of always climbing and knocking things down.
It was easier to just sit and not produce.
The thing is — and this is what I chatted about with these artists — once you let that doubt take hold, it’s a downward spiral.
In the words of one of the artists, the mighty Ray Frenden:
“It’s a trap. Self doubt produces less work, less work produces self doubt.”
The trick, then, is to keep working — even if you don’t feel inspired.
Much of my current novel was written during a couple bouts with a tumor in my head. I hated what I produced at the time.
Once I looked at it with a clear mind, I realized it was the best thing I’ve ever written.
Maybe It’s Not Even a Wall
Many times, the wall that we think is a problem with our writing has nothing to do with writing.
We often find it hard to write not because writing is hard, but because there are other things in our lives affecting us.
Maybe you’ve been working overtime at work and feel like spending an hour writing during lunch is yet another hour of work of some sort, when all you want to do is rest.
Maybe you have too much going on after work that demands your attention. (While I believe most people can find an hour a day to write, sometimes weeks or months pass by without writing.)
Maybe you’re just thinking about the “state of the world” and bummed. (In which case, you should get out and do things you love doing; get out with loved ones who remind you that — at least where you are — it may not be all that bad.)
The trick is to not knock yourself for what you haven’t written. If you’re thinking about what you haven’t written, it means that someplace deep down you still want to write; it means somewhere deep down there’s still a glimmer of hope.
It’s just a matter of time before you get back to it.
Tearing Down the Wall
Here’s the thing about tearing down the wall: you only have to do it once to remind yourself that you’re able to do it.
I’ll be the first to admit there are times I get tired of knocking down walls, but the more walls I’ve torn down, the happier I’ve become.
Stop the rough time once, and you can stop it again and again…
This Week
If you’re having a rough time this week, I wish you luck in pushing through your wall and getting back to doing what makes you happy.
If you can’t do it this week, know there are people who understand.
If you’re still looking at the wall next month, talk to somebody.
But remember this: if you’re feeling down because you’ve hit a wall that’s prevented you from writing, it means you’re at least still thinking about writing.
It’s when you stop thinking about writing that you need to be concerned…
* * *
Since struggling with things is on my mind after having the discussion with the two artists I mentioned, on Wednesday I plan to write about ways to climb out of a hole, and Friday I plan to write about the strength of your own wall.
I hope everybody facing a big wall this week finds a way through it.
And if not, this video and this video always cheer me up!
I have to admit, with sewing, I do have some things making me nervous because it’s wasted money if I mess up and I’m still new to this, but a lot of my issues lately have really been due to having too much on my mind and not being able to focus. I’ve been kicking myself less and just knowing that I will work when I can, and cutting myself slack when I don’t. Unfortunately, it does mean that I have to miss out on things because I’m not finished, but maybe it’ll teach me to push through more often 😛
The fiddle is another thing entirely, of course. That’s just plain frustration and not being good enough + muddling through blindly on my own.
I do have it lucky when writing doesn’t work out as planned in that it doesn’t cost money, like expensive fabric. All I lose is time, which can add up over the course of a novel.
But in the end, I’m almost always proud of what I do, and it’s nice seeing you more pleased with the things you do.
I recommend this video and this video instead.
Mason,
I’ve seen the Non-Juggling Juggling video; it’s great. The WJF memories video…hadn’t seen that, so thanks for sharing. I’ve only been to one convention (an IJA convention years ago, in Denver).
This is the juggling video that always makes Cynthia happy.
Gotta love the Internet. I would have loved having it around when I was younger and my exposure to juggling was limited to just a couple local clubs, books, and the occasional video. It’s amazing how far the Internet has pushed juggling.
Juggling’s one of those things that can always help me push through a wall when I’m stuck writing. I don’t juggle as much as I used to, but walking away from a problem to juggle for a few minutes (or a few hours) always seems to fix the problem.
Thanks for the reply!
I love that Vova Galchenko video.
Yeah, it’s a great video. I love watching some of his practice videos. Just some of the kickups and little things he does practicing are smoother than many people’s juggling.
It’s also a good reminder that it takes so much practice to get there. Seeing somebody who makes it look so effortless hitting himself in the head with a club or getting frustrated…it’s nice to know you’re not alone.
In recent years, I’ve spent so much more time writing than juggling. I tend to write better when I’m juggling, though. The Dallas/Ft. Worth Area needs a strong juggling club again, or at least an alliance of the remaining clubs in the area.
Nice tips and reminders here. And I really enjoyed the videos. Good message.
Mary
Great post! And very timely, since just five minutes before reading this post, I was complaining to a writer friend of mine about how I had all these great ideas for a new character that appeared suddenly in one of my scenes…but I seemed to have lost all steam. Seems to me that once this new character popped in and gave my story a new twist that I would be *more* motivated to write, but the exact opposite has happened. I wish I could understand the method to my madness. 😉
I guess it doesn’t help that I still don’t have any portion of my story written anywhere near linearly. I have a vague notion of some events coming before or after other events, but I definitely don’t even have a Chapter 1 yet.
I recently got Scrivener for my Mac. Awesome software in my opinion! Do you use any sort of novel-writing software, or are you a straight Word Processor sort of fella?
Take care!
Amy
Mary: Thanks for the reply.
I know so many talented people who don’t see how awesome they are. It helps me seeing their talent and those moments they aren’t sure if they’re as good as they are because when I feel that way myself, it reminds me that I’m doing the same thing I knock friends for doing.
I’ll always push myself and know my writing can be better, but I learned long ago to see the good in what I do and accept it. And I learned that from watching the people who love writing, but acknowledge there are times when it’s work, and not particularly fun work at that. It’s always satisfying in the end, but there’s a lot of time during a novel that aren’t particularly fun for me, and a lot of other writers I’ve talked with.
I think that’s when some people hit a wall. We work all day, and when something we enjoy seems like work — especially in a world full of distractions — it’s much easier to gravitate toward sitting back and letting something entertain us.
I sometimes go days without writing because I’m tired. The big trick for me is not letting relaxing take over.
Sometimes stepping back a few days gives me the running start to run through a wall and get back to having fun writing.
Amy,
That’s happened to me. Just BOOM! new character out of nowhere.
When it’s happened to me, it usually means I’m still figuring out where I’m going with things. I typically don’t write with an outline. I charge in with a beginning and a rough idea where I’m going with the end. So new characters often pop up.
Just like you mentioned, sometimes those are times I lose steam. Many times, I think I know where things are going, I get excited because a story seems to be coming together, and a new character usually means I needed something else and I have to think about where I’m going again.
It can be daunting.
Scrivener is cool because it has a built in notecard feature that can help prevent all the grief that comes from opening a blank file and charging in almost blind. I’ve only tinkered with a Scrivener demo (it’s finally coming out for PCs), and I like it. While I’ve always used Word (and lately, Open Office) for writing, the features in Scrivener appeal to me. It doesn’t seem gimmicky, full of too many features that distract from writing, and the notecard feature alone is something I love.
With the novel I recently finished, when all those new characters popped up (and some existing characters got stripped out of the story), I finally bought a couple packs of notecards and write a bit about each scene on them. I used different colored Post-It flags to represent main characters and themes and attached them to the notecards. Then I claimed the living room for a couple hours, laid them all out, and had everything before me.
I could see just by the colors if one section of the novel focused too much on one thing in places. I was able to shuffle things around and drop in new scenes. When I finally had a draft I was happy enough with, I color coded the actual manuscript and laid it out on the living room floor to see it all before me.
I still don’t know if Scrivener will replace physical notecards for me, but I love being able to use the corkboard in the program to rough things out better. I don’t know if I’ll buy it yet (I only recently downloaded a demo), but I’ve liked what I’ve seen.
I hope you’re able to lay your story out so you can see it better and keep moving. It’s a great feeling when it all starts coming together. I can’t even begin telling you how many walls I hit with the novel I just finished, but it was all worth it when things started finally feeling right and I knew everything there was to know about the story.
Good luck!
Amy, one thing I’ll add to Christopher’s reply (and he can correct me if I’m off — I’m just going off things I remember hearing and seeing about this last novel he mentioned). One of the reasons the last novel was so hard for him to finish off and on was because it went through severe changes. Big plot changes, big character changes, whole characters and sections removed, others added. He was also battling one of his worst bouts with the pituitary tumor during it, so his mood and outlook had changed a lot too.
The novel from first to finish took him much, much longer than he usually takes to write, and while it was a more serious nature than something like his current podcast, I have a feeling that was the biggest reason he had so much trouble with it.
If you have a favorite method of working out an outline, go ahead and use it. Keep loose with it — because things do change and you want to be able to land on your feet easily enough and keep going, so don’t fight with any desires to change your mind — but keep going. Editing might be annoying, but if you make enough notes and a couple read-throughs will have you familiar enough for editing later.
The longer it takes to write something, the more you and situations in your life change. That story will also change, and it will be a little irritating having to deal with making all those changes as well as continuing forward with writing the story. So get your favorite form of outline together, take a deep breath, dive in, and keep writing! 🙂 See where it takes you and have fun!
Oh yes, those notecards and corkboard are awesome! I always liked the notecard technique, but I just love how you can color-code the cards and move them around quick as please. Once I imported all my snippets and began to organize them, I actually felt *less* stressed when I sat down to write. I doubt Scrivener will work for everyone, but for me, it’s the bees knees. 😉
I told Cynthia on her blog that one of these days I’m going to try to meet up with y’all on one of my trips to DFW. It’d be great to meet the Man Behind The Blog and catch up with my old high-school buddy! I just love her sewing. She’s so talented.
I’ve really enjoyed your blog. I’ve forwarded it to several friends who are writers too. I’ve visited lots of writing sites, but somehow your blog really speaks to the everyday issues that writers have — maybe it’s because it feels more personal — and helps us get out of our funks and get writing again. Thanks a million!
Amy
Thanks for that, Amy! I know Christopher struggles at times — especially in the beginning — with what direction to take for subjects on here. There are so many writing sites out there offering tips, but the theme of his blog seems to offer something that even non-writers can take away some good information. It’s good for him to know what’s really helping people, so he can keep fresh content and tips coming out. Everyone will have their favorite place online for things like this, but it’s nice to know he’s going in the right direction 😀
And I can’t wait to talk about costuming with you! Who knew we’d meet back up over something like that? I didn’t even sew when we knew each other. Too funny!
Thanks so much, Amy! That really means a lot to me.
I know for many people, the goal of a blog is to get a bunch of traffic, throw up advertising, and just get stuff out there no matter if it’s good or bad. I started The Juggling Writer because I’m in the same place so many other writers are: struggling with finding time for everything and writing on top of all that. I also got a bit complacent with my last job, doing the “right” thing and focusing more on a supposed career than what I love.
I look at the progress I was making as a writer up to the point of starting my last long-term job, and that’s where so much of my progress stopped. The moment I decided to go to Atlanta for work for two months instead of writing four travel assignments for the Dallas Morning News, my writing progress slowed.
The Juggling Writer got me back to thinking about writing all the time. It forced me to find a better balance with work, writing, and life. I was working and living, but I wasn’t writing as much as I should have been for awhile.
While the pituitary tumor issues Cynthia mentioned were a big factor in my production, a big part of the problem was I got complacent and tired. It’s one of the reasons I wrote this post about hitting walls.
I’ve hit some big walls and kept going and know the best thing is taking breaks when health says, “Hey, relax!” but working even when you don’t want to work other times.
I definitely plan to work from a better outline on the next book. I wrote a complete draft of the current novel and totally rewrote it. I didn’t just change some scenes, I dropped entire storylines. There’s a mystery element in the book and I changed the person who murdered the person who goes missing early in the story. I changed so much, and I never want to write that way again.
So maybe Scrivener or my physical notecard trick will help me. I typically charge right in, not knowing where I’m going, but I want to know where I’m going with the next novel.
It wasn’t until I knew where I was going with the novel I recently finished that all the walls came down and it was nothing but fun!
I hope you’re able to get everything organized with what you’re doing and avoid any walls 🙂