Does this sound familiar? Your writing was going strong until all of a sudden your forward momentum came to a screeching halt. Perhaps it fizzled out over time. Regardless, your writing projects have fallen by the wayside. You came down with the dreaded “writers block.” Something else sounded far more interesting, and writing didn’t seem as enticing or glamorous any more. Maybe something happened out of your control, a major life event transpired, or you transitioned into a new season of life where finding time to write is much more difficult and feels far less attainable.
For me personally, my writing momentum came to a screeching halt after writing over 55k words for National Novel Writing Month in 2023. I was burnt out, had severe writers block, decided to direct my focus to writing a blog, then took a break for the Holidays. After that, life just kept on rolling and, before I knew it, my story had been on pause for over a year. Part of the neglect was procrastination, house renovations with a deadline, and then the rest of the time off was an intentional break to to ease through a new season of life that God had blessed me with.
Once life settled as much as it could into a new normal, I began to intentionally pray about brushing the dust off my story and begin writing again. I wasn’t sure if this was the right season in life, but the story God laid on my heart two years ago still burned within me. The desire to tell this story burned even stronger now than before the break, and God gave me peace and direction to take up my pen and begin writing again.
Though writing in this season is much slower with greater responsibilities, more interruptions, and fewer word counts, somehow, it is much more rewarding since I chose to pursue it despite the challenges. If you too have that burning in your heart and you have been waiting for the right moment to start anew, here are some tips that helped me get back into writing after a long break.
- Pray
- Pray for wisdom if this is the best time to begin writing again. If God gives you that direction, then pray for inspiration, diligence, and time management. The Author of your life will indeed guide you if writing is something that He has called you to do.
- Start Small
- Trying to write 2,000 words a day when you haven’t written 2,000 words collectively in the past six months is only asking you to set yourself up for quick burnout. I was a competitive swimmer in high school. At the beginning of every season, we had to start with a smaller amount of yardage than what we swam at the peak of our season. If we did, it would only result in burnout and injury. Instead, we focused on strengthening our muscles and building up our yardage over time. In the same way, a writer must start small. Don’t expect yourself to immediately be writing with the same impetus as you had been at the peak of your writing success. Scale back and focus on building your “writing muscles.” Start with 500 words or fifteen minutes a day, or even just determine to sit down to write a couple times a week. Especially if you are in a new season of life, don’t compare yourself to what you used to do. Instead, celebrate the little wins and rejoice in the progress. Even twenty five words is better than a blank page.
- Establish a Routine
- Writing whenever is convenient or out of the spur of of the moment may work for some, but it is easy to let writing fall by the wayside again unless it is implemented into your daily/weekly routine and/or schedule. Consider adding a block of time to your schedule as an appointment that you cannot miss. If a set time does not work for you, you could instead follow the method of habit stacking by scheduling writing time before or after an established habit. Here are some examples of what that may look like.
- begin writing after you finish your morning coffee ritual
- Write immediately after your kids fall asleep and before you begin your own personal evening routine
- Write on your commute to work or school (except if you are driving, of course)
- Write for the remainder of your lunch break after finishing your meal instead of doom scrolling to pass the remaining break time
- Write after completing the supper dishes
- Write after you complete your workout and need a little time to veg before starting your next daily activity
- For me personally, my writing time has either been in the early morning after my workout, or after dishes are washed and my little one is tucked into bed for the night.
- Writing whenever is convenient or out of the spur of of the moment may work for some, but it is easy to let writing fall by the wayside again unless it is implemented into your daily/weekly routine and/or schedule. Consider adding a block of time to your schedule as an appointment that you cannot miss. If a set time does not work for you, you could instead follow the method of habit stacking by scheduling writing time before or after an established habit. Here are some examples of what that may look like.
- Find an Accountability Partner
- Accountability is important because it acknowledges your goal outside of yourself. It is easy to slip back into old habits and make excuses if you are only silently accountable to yourself. Your accountability partner could be someone like your best friend, your mom, your spouse, a writing group, or multiple people you know and love that are already your biggest cheerleaders. Accountability could be as simple as telling someone your goals, or you could have check-ins and updates. You also could ask your accountability partner to pray for you as you pursue writing again.
- Join a Writing Community
- Being a writer can definitely feel lonely as you alone are responsible for translating a whole world full of characters, morals and plots onto empty pages. Being able to pursue your goals alongside other writers that are on similar journeys can help you press on through every stage. Whether you are dreaming, drafting, editing, or sending your novel off for publication, the community of writers can help cheer you on every step of the way. (I absolutely have loved being part of the Glory Writers monthly writing challenges to help motivate me during these busy summer months!)
- Eliminate Distractions
- To help your creative begin wheels spinning again, consider scaling back on things that are less of a priority. Social media is a great tool for writers, but it can also be a major distraction. Be okay with saying no to some things or rearrange your schedule if possible. Again, pray for wisdom for ways that you can best use your time.
It takes time to build a rebuild a habit. Remember to give yourself grace and be consistent in prayer. I hope that one or all of these tips are helpful and an encouragement to you. Please let me know in the comments what strategy you would like to begin implementing!