I’d love to tell you that with “one easy trick” all your writing woes would fade away and you’d never struggle with a blank page again.
(Spoiler: If someone says that, they’re probably about to try scamming you.)
The truth is, sometimes writing feels easy breezy. Annnnnd sometimes writing feels like an exam you know you’re going to fail.
First, I want to say that either of those and anything in between is valid. Very little in the world is black and white, and writing output and how we react to it is no different.
But what can we do about the times writing feels impossible, overwhelming, or scary? Good news: a lot, actually!
Breathe
Sounds simple. But deep, dedicated breathing can be helpful when, whether you realize it or not, the act of thinking/planning/sitting down to write literally raises your heart and respiration rate, which tells your body you’re not safe and that you need to prepare to run. Except there’s no jaguar in the trees; you’re simply trying to write!
In my experiments, since I frequently suffer from my-manuscript-is-going-to-eat-me syndrome, 3 to 5 minutes of intentional breathing before writing seems to benefit the most. In seconds, breathe in for 3, hold for 6, and breathe out for 3. If another count feels more comfortable for you, like 4-8-4, do that! If you prefer only breathing through your nose, that’s fine! Mouth only? All good. Nose then mouth? Totally cool.
The idea is for the controlled breathing to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which lets your body know you’re not in danger. The body-brain connection runs deep, and this breathing exercise helps you pick the lock on that feedback loop.
Set a Timer
You’d think setting a timer would create more urgency, but it can actually lessen the fear around writing because you’ve made yourself a little box to work in, and then it’s over.
When you first begin this strategy, start with 5 minutes on the clock. And, this is important, write for those 5 minutes. Doesn’t matter what you write! Pencils down when the timer goes off. Don’t read what you wrote.
Get up and do something small: wash a dish, toss laundry from the washer into the dryer, grab a granola bar, drink water. Then come back and set the timer again.
Over time, set the timer for longer intervals between short breaks. I’ve found the Pomodoro method useful for this: 25 minutes of focus, 5 minutes short break. Repeat four times and then take a half hour break. Rinse and repeat as needed. (The Pomodoro method can be useful if you have ADHD.)
Intentional Journaling
It can be really helpful for some people, particularly overthinkers, to journal before they begin their writing sessions. I spend about 5 minutes journaling on average, but I’ll take longer if I need to because, some days, my worries and fears feel much bigger and breathing alone won’t get the job done.
Intentional journaling isn’t just about writing down your thoughts and worries. It’s about your fears surrounding writing: yourself as a writer, your future as an author, the quality of your writing, etc. Begin with thought dumping what’s making this almost-session feel so terrifying and lead yourself into being kind and accepting. If it helps, imagine you’re speaking to a friend, but eventually try to move into speaking to yourself.
When I journal before writing, my entry might look something like this:
“I’m going to have a writing session soon, but first I need to get out that I’m terrified I’m going to fail. Somehow this blank page is going to stay blank or what I write is going to be bad. Logically, I know that’s not exactly true because I haven’t even started and my first draft says nothing about me as a person—actually, no draft does that…—but I feel that way, and I’m trying to acknowledge that fear so I can let it go. I deserve to give myself space to let my words exist in their messiest and rawest form first. I’m showing up, and that’s enough.”
One last thing: you don’t have to keep these entries if you don’t want to. I toss most of mine. And yes, I hand write my entries. If you try intentional journaling on a computer first and don’t feel it helps, definitely try it on a good old-fashioned piece of paper.
Practice Creative Play
The goal here is to find an activity that you have absolutely zero anxiety about performing and find relaxing. For me, this is something like coloring, building puzzles, or crocheting. (Crocheting is particularly good for me since I’m an overthinker, and you cannot count stitches and overthink at the same time.)
Make a point to do this activity right before you write. It can be helpful to do this in your usual writing space too.
Group Write
Sometimes, writing alone fuels terror and you can do all of the above before a session and keep falling back into a freeze state. If this happens to you, try writing with others.
The knowledge that someone else is writing with you can rein in that fear and help you focus. The presence of another person (or persons) offers a sense of community, a real-time reminder that you aren’t alone.
When you group write, make sure it’s “quiet time.” Imagine how it was back in grade school when everyone was in the same space but they were working on their own tasks. Chat a few minutes before the session and set your intention for the day, but then settle in and focus on your own work.
I feel these sessions work best when they’re between 1 and 1.5 hours long, but experiment and see what works best for you and your person/group!
A quick recap:
- Do a 3-6-3 breathing cycle, or what feels most comfortable, for 3 to 5 minutes before you begin writing.
- Set a timer for 5 minutes and write. Take a short break when time is up (wash a dish, grab a snack) and then come back and do another 5 minutes of writing. Eventually, you may find a Pomodoro clock helpful for longer sessions with breaks!
- Journal with intention before you begin to write. Begin with your fears and anxieties surrounding your writing session or yourself as a writer, but move toward a place of self-compassion.
- Practice creative play before you write. Color, puzzles, fiber arts, etc. are all great creative play options. Make sure your choice has no fear or anxiety attached to it and that you find the activity relaxing.
- Write with a buddy or buddies! Group writing can help you focus and feel less alone in the writing process.
All of these things can be mixed-and-matched to suit your particular needs. The idea behind each one isn’t to banish your fear forever, because, for many of us, that’s not a reasonable thing to expect. Coming to terms with that and being kind to yourself because of it is an important first step to healing the part of you that associates writing with fear in the first place.
No matter what, I’m rooting for you and believe the list above can help you create better, more positive, habits surrounding your writing.
Asking someone else to read your manuscript to you is useful for beta readings! It’s not technically a stage of editing, but your beta readers are the first people who will see your manuscript.
