Author Resources

Breaking Points: Looking for Weak Spots in your Writer Life

By: Michael Esser

When you decided to become a writer you probably imagined a life of clicking away at the keys, signing books, being the subject of front-page articles, and seeing your stories in movie adaptations. What a surprise when you found out there was a downside to writing.

As with any job there are certain pulls on your daily routines that can either make a day successful or wasteful. When you’re a writer you have to produce to get paid and have to produce well to continue to get the job assignments.

This pressure on the outcome of what is an inspired process can bog down the creative flow and cause the onset of the infamous writer’s block. On the other hand, you could be bubbling over with ideas and be so busy being pulled in different directions that the opportunity to sit down and produce never manifests itself.

Busy schedules and family commitments are probably the two biggest time bandits. Not to say that taking that meeting with the new editor or going to Bobby’s football game are time wasters. They’re not. Instead, your focus needs to be on your scheduling. Everything that has to take place in your weekly routine should be scheduled with time set aside for you to write. If your job is writing, then you need to treat it seriously and give yourself extra time in the schedule for those “just in case” moments. Let everyone know about the blocks of time you’ve reserved for work and be sure to place an importance on that time and how it needs to be respected.

You may have already run into the problem of being too much of a perfectionist by needing to get everything just right and getting overly frustrated when the words don’t come. The only part you do need to be perfect on is your deadlines. That means you’ve got to learn and use some good time management skills.

Although all the scheduling in the world might not be able to stop writer’s block, having enough time set aside to work through it will. If you find yourself blocked, take a few minutes and go for a walk seeing every detail as if you were to return to your computer and start a creative writing assignment. This will help get the juices flowing again. If you can’t go for a real walk in the physical world, then go on a virtual one online, visiting your favorite news or entertainment websites with the same mindset of detailing your journey.

Regardless of what’s in front of you, remember that being a writer is what you wanted. Now write!

Information provided by the Author Learning Center