There’s a carnival game I love called Roller Bowler. The objective is to propel a bowling ball over a hump on a metal track. Sounds simple, but it’s not so easy. Too little force, and you won’t make it over the hump in the first place. Too much force, and the ball will go racing over the hump, rebound against the rear wall, and come hurtling right back at you. Either way, you lose.
Daily writing sessions are like Roller Bowler for me. If I don’t bully myself a little bit, I can easily waste the day running errands, surfing the internet, or even cleaning the house. But if I push myself too hard, I can end up sucking all the joy out of my follow-your-passion pursuit. For me personally, that kind of negative energy creates an even bigger obstacle than regular old distractability.
But if I apply just the right amount of pressure, that’s when the magic is unlocked. Like a Roller Bowler ball settling into the valley of its track, I find myself comfortably in the zone. The minutes pass by without my even noticing. My fingers fly, and my words fill the page with tension, imagery, and snappy dialogue. I’ve won the game.
Again, sounds simple, but it’s not so easy. How do you find that balance between too much force and not enough?
I think for most people — myself included — starting is the hardest part. The blank page can be intimidating, whereas watching Netflix or scrolling through Facebook is practically effortless. But they are also less rewarding.
Here are a few tricks I use to get myself over that initial hump:
- Set time limits instead of word quotas. For example, aim for 25 minutes rather than 500 words. The point isn’t quantity — and it isn’t really quality either. The point is to put in the work, regardless of the outcome. (Although, good news: the more you practice, the better you’ll get.)
- Focus on a tree instead of the forest. You’re not writing a novel today. You’re writing a scene. Or maybe just a paragraph. Zoom in, because the big picture can be overwhelming.
- Remind yourself that writing is wonderful. Find a beautiful desktop wallpaper (like this or this) to inspire you in the background. Leave yourself post-it notes with empowering quotes (like this or this). Literally say out loud to yourself, “Writing is fun!” and “I love to write.” I seriously do that sometimes, and it really does help.
- Talk about your writing with a critique partner or trusted friend. Whether you’re solving a plot problem or just rambling about characters and themes, sharing your thoughts with another person can really light you up with excitement for your story. It’s like a little jolt of electricity, and it just might spark into fuel for a good writing session.
Working in tandem with that, these are the strategies I use to stop myself from hitting the wall:
- Set small goals to build positive momentum. 25 min is better than 2 hours, and 250 words is better than 2000. If you have a good little writing session, you can always try for another. But if you bust on a big one, you’ll probably end up feeling guilty about it, and that’s not exactly motivating for the next time.
- Give yourself permission to write poorly. Because you can’t make gold out of nothing, but you can make a diamond out of carbon buried deep in the dirt. That’s what revision is for.
- Do not beat yourself up about bad days. Just let them go. It’s tempting to carry-over quotas. “I only wrote for 10 minutes today, so I have to do 40 tomorrow.” But 40 might become 60 might add up to 100 might snowball into 300 and suddenly you’ve set yourself an impossible and unappealing task. My advice? Take writing seriously, but don’t turn it into a burden.
These things might sound basic, especially to Writer Unboxed regulars. But it’s so easy to lose sight of them when we’re busy eying agents and book deals and movie news and Franzendrama and Amazonageddon and whatever else is going on in the publishing world. Sometimes we just need a reminder or two to help bring us back to center.
How do you get yourself over the hump? And how do you stop yourself from hitting the wall?
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About Kristan Hoffman
Originally from Houston, TX, Kristan Hoffman studied creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University and later attended the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop. Now she lives with her family in Cincinnati, OH, where she writes both fiction and nonfiction with a focus on feminist, multicultural stories. Her words have appeared in the New York Times, Switchback, and the Citron Review, among others. She is currently at work on a Young Adult novel, and is represented by Tina Dubois of ICM. For more, please visit her website.
“You’re not writing a novel today.”
I’m going to keep this one.
For inspiration, I turned an unappealing abstract canvas into a writer’s vision board on my desk. I used to hate it, now looking at it makes me happy.
Great post!
Oh yeah, vision boards can be very inspiring and centering! Thanks for commenting. :)
I was born a Spartan. And since discipline is part of the package I’ve never had a problem finding time to write, or finding the energy to “Push Thru” to meet whatever goal I’ve set for myself.
The Hump I’ve been wrestling, for over a decade, is the one that prevents me from being fully “present” on the page. As a former actress, who understands how to unmask her vulnerability in a house full of strangers, this is one frustrating Hump to face each day.
But something magical happened this summer. I stumbled into something better than mere Routine.—I uncovered a rhythm. “They” say showing up is half the battle and this may be true, but the real issue is what are you going to do when you get there. How are you going to proceed? Just because you follow a recipe doesn’t mean the soup or the desert will taste good. As we bring the ingredients together we need to pause a time or two and taste what we’re blending together, then add or change ingredients along the way so the final result is Yum rather than Not Bad.
This summer I’ve allowed myself to savor the entire process of writing. As the sun rises I snuggle up in a blanket on the sofa in my office and write long hand. Sometimes its the equivalent of “Morning Pages” but most often its a poem. This opens up the creative frequency in my brain. I write without judgement. I realized I’ve never judged my poetry, never said it wasn’t good enough. By giving myself permission to write about whatever comes to mind, in these delicate hours of the day, I’m nurturing and fueling myself for the bigger task ahead. Once the long hand is done I switch over to my computer where I continue to journal and mull over what I needs to be addressed in my manuscript. Once the manuscript juices kick in then I’m off, writing or rewriting as needed.
All of this happens before 10am, when I take a long walk with my frisky border collie/lab and tend to other business. My break is usually about two hours. Then I come back and roll again. But this time I can dive right in because I’ve already savored, nurtured and honored my creativity.
Showing up may be half the battle. But I think uncovering and honoring you’re own rhythm is the key to getting us over the Humps in the process.
Wow, now I really feel charged for the day. Thanks for this wonderful prompt, Kristan.
Love your analogies, and completely agree that rhythm > routine. (For some people the two are the same. Not so for me.) Thanks for commenting, and I’m glad you enjoyed the post! PS: I have a Border Collie mix too. :P
I just got back to my morning routine after several days of not being able to (finishing is too huge).
It is quite simple, and always seems to work.
First, I set a 10 minute timer, and race through checking email (don’t open it – just see what’s there). Every once in a while there’s something which MUST be done before writing. But it’s very rare.
I set up a few Sudokus – but don’t do them. They’re my emergency backup.
Then I block the internet with Freedom for THIRTY minutes only. My commitment to myself: get your day organized, and if you choose not to spend time writing, at least it will be a choice.
Then I talk to myself, in writing, for most of those 30 minutes. I ask myself what’s going on – why I’m having trouble (if I am). I list what I have to do, and what I WANT to do. I get the junk OUT of my head and onto the page – where it suddenly seems smaller.
I deal with FEAR directly – by writing about it, giving myself a pep talk that involves reminding myself I routinely deal with the same kinds of problems once I get going.
And then I’m usually surprised that my 30 minutes are up.
For some reason, this makes it much easier to set a 10 minute timer, surf or answer email or ? for a few minutes.
And then get the internet blocked (Freedom) for a big chunk of time (5-6 hours) or use Anti-Social (which I use to block all the sites I visit regularly, not just the social ones) if I need to be able to get at my online resources such as Wikipedia, Google, or AutoCrit – and somehow I’m started for the day.
I only have trouble getting started when my head is crammed full of unresolved and unwritten junk; once it’s out of there, acknowledged and recorded, I’m fine.
And so thanks for a great topic: I think you got me restarted this morning, just with your title – and it has been a good use of the ten minutes grace period to think about what you said.
I’m off to work. This thing isn’t going to do final edits on itself, you know.
Over and out.
Freedom can be such a great tool. Sounds like you’ve got a great process for yourself, and I’m so glad my post could help kick-start you into it today. :)
“…250 words is better than 2000″… oh yeah? In all seriousness though: I take a different approach. With my current Novel (WIP) I’ve set out to start and finish this month, which means QUANTITY. Since I work a full-time job, I don’t have the luxury of saying “oh, I’ll just write for fifteen minutes.” Instead, my response is “The kids are in bed, everything is taken care of, I need to hammer out 3000 words.” Time is actually the dependent factor, not the independent one. It’s a different mentality, and requires a lot more slop (i.e. bad writing); but so far it’s gotten me where I need to go, and ultimately: that’s what editing is for.
I actually think what you’re saying and what I’m saying have a ton of overlap. Buckle down, allow “slop,” use the time you have.
The mindset I’m advocating — of setting small goals — is simply geared toward people who are having trouble getting started with that. If it doesn’t apply to you, then great! Everyone’s writing methods are not in competition with one another.
Thanks so much for reading and responding!
Yes, my apologies if my response came off as advocating one way or the other. I didn’t mean for my words to convey any ‘fiesty-ness’ and I apologize if it came across that way.
This is not only full of great tips, but wonderfully well-timed for me, Kristan, thanks! I’m off to seek a specific tree while purposefully ignoring the forest.
Good luck, Vaughn! Now I have this great mental image of you sitting meditatively at the foot of a huge, beautiful tree. :P
Hmmm, this writing thing sounds an awful lot like good sex :)
I’ve set out to revise my novel this month and boy is it daunting to open the document at times. I now leave it open all the time so that as soon as I flip open the screen, there is a page to work on.
Like Jocosa, I like to scribble first thing in the morning, well, after packing the kids off to school, then walk the dog, and by the time I return home and take my shower, I’m ready to write.
Hah, leaving the document open is a trick I use sometimes too. Although on the flip side, if I leave it there TOO long without actually working, I start to become inured to it. So then I close it and commit to only opening it when I’m actually going to write. :P
Everything works until it doesn’t, right? ;P
Loved this, Kristan:
“Focus on a tree instead of the forest. You’re not writing a novel today. You’re writing a scene.”
What wonderful advice! Thank you!
Dee
Author of A Keeper’s Truth and GOT
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for commenting. :)
Thank you for this. Some brilliant, balanced advice here.
I will take “brilliant” and “balanced” any day. ;) Thank you!
Sometimes we writers forget that we can’t measure our productivity the same way we do how quickly we could turn out tortilla warmers on an assembly line- if that was our job. What we, and all other artists do cannot be measured in daily quotas. I do like to keep track of my word count each day, but don’t despair when there is only 200 new words today. That is better than no new words today, and tomorrow I may get 1000 new words.
I loved the post, Kristan and will share some of your advice on my Writing Wisdom segment of my blog tomorrow, with a link to this post as well as your website.
I think keeping track without self-judgment can be a great source of data and motivation! Sounds like you have an excellent attitude. :)
Thanks so much for commenting and for sharing! That means a lot to me.
I heard a great comment recently that sounds apropos here. My friend (a musician) said: Shame stands for “Should Have Already Mastered Everything.” And I’ve also heard that perfectionism and shame are two sides of the same coin.
When we’re too hard on ourselves, we stop finding joy in the practice of writing. When we get too worked up over outcomes and things beyond our control, when we get too perfectionistic, we end up feeling shame, because we’ve fallen short of goals that may well be impossible. But when we do what you’re talking about (at least in my experience), the journey becomes a pleasant adventure.
I also make it a point to take one day completely off each week. No writing, no promotion, no nothing. That way I reset and feel refreshed, and I start looking forward to my workdays, rather than dreading them.
HAH, re: “SHAME.” It’s so true. So very unfortunate and true. :P
Taking a day off is a great idea. Gives you time to recharge, and time to miss your characters and story.
Great post. Word counts breed poor writing because the number of words becomes the focus. My goal is scene development. Whatever it takes and however long it takes, find the best words to write the scene. And a benefit, it cuts down editing time.
Same for me — but I must caveat with the fact that I know many writers for whom word counts breed good writing! We’ve all got our own methods to try and get through this madness. ;)