Every day, I talk with writers who secretly struggle.
photo credit: Kelly Sikkema (Unsplash)
- Perhaps writing for-hire is killing their passion to focus on and write what really matters…
- Perhaps they’re good at their craft but, no matter how hard they try, they can’t seem to create habits and systems to spark fresh ideas and intentionally grow their careers…
- Perhaps they’ve got a gnaw in their gut, or a solid vision for their talent… but no clue how to chart a writing and publishing path that feels good and truly fits.
Can you relate?
If you know you’re lacking writing passion, systems or focus…you need to fix these problems fast. These are not the kind of writing blocks you want to wrestle with for long periods of time. Why? Because although writing challenges may be common and perhaps even expected…your writing struggles are costing you money, vitality and happiness.
Dramatic claim? I don’t think so.
Think about it…
When you’re mired in struggle, you lose your access to critical writing fuel like tenacity, creative fire and focus.
If you’re stuck spinning your wheels –for weeks, months or even years — you aren’t on a workable path that’s headed towards the writing success you know you’re capable of.
If you (secretly or not) feel you are a “born writer,” someone who is meant to write and yet, you’re not… and you’ve been struggling for too long to find the time, path and confidence you need to get started, then you’re blocking yourself from becoming the truest expression of the man or woman you are meant to be.
Take the case of my client, Sara. (This is not her real name – I’ve changed her name for privacy.)
No matter how many “pro tips for writers” Sara tried, she struggled. She had a file cabinet full of critiqued-but-unfinished essays, and mixed in the files were a few freelance pitches she’d put down and never picked up.
Sara tried to solve her writing problems. Truly, she did all the right things! She joined a regular writing group, and she attended readings given by her close friend and other authors – writers who were unblocked and moving forward with their dreams.
When Sara came to me, she confessed that, depsite taking positive action, she still struggled mightily with:
- comparing herself to other writers,
- setting writing goals she felt confident in and could stick with,
- finding time, energy and writing focus, so she could write consistently and happily.
Sara was incredibly hard on herself, and one day, Sara said she’d been doubting she was even supposed to be a writer.
Hiring me to coach her was Sara’s last-ditch effort to take her writing seriously.
Together, we simplified her writing habits, streamlined Sara’s goals and pruned her time and schedule. Most importantly? We discovered where Sara was blocking her own success – the particular ways and times she’d get in her own way. We re-patterned Sara’s thinking around success, failure and everything in between. We prepped her to face inevitable setbacks and writing challenges. We refocused Sara’s attention on managing her writing career and progress, rather than her fear.
- With my help, in 2 months’ time Sara had regained her passion for writing, and she was joyfully recording fresh ideas for new projects. Sara created a writing habit she loved, and together we honed her big vision and a single (sizable) publishing goal. She was equipped with clarity, work habits and strategy, but Jenny was also ready to pursue her writing goals from the inside. Together we’d begun revamping her “inner game” of writing and I gave her a simple, personalized set of steps and goals to see her work in at least one of her dream magazines.
- In 4 months’ time, Sara had reworked and polished four essays. She sent them out, and among the rejection letters, one day she received an enthusiastic “YES” for her work – an acceptance letter for a magazine she’d targeted. It wasn’t yet a “dream” publication… but it was decidedly close.
- In 6 months’ time, Sara walked away with new writing and self-management habits she’ll use for life. Her publishing successes (more had followed) had locked in her clarity, her confidence and her career trajectory. Sara was free – free from struggle, and free from doubt that she was, indeed, meant to be a happy, working writer.
Today, Sara no longer struggles to stay focused on one piece of writing until it’s done. She doesn’t hesitate (as much!) when it’s time to send out work. Sara knows what to do, inside and out, when rejections come. Best of all, Sara knows how to set big writing goals, and she has learned to coach herself to stay true to them until she’s achieved them.
In a coaching call, once I asked Sara to estimate the number of hours she used to spend each week spinning her wheels or feasting on anxiety.
After a moment, she replied: “Easily — ten hours.”
Ten hours of anxious, wasted time. Ten hours of negative, stuck thinking. Ten hours — that’s forty hours every single month — of time, energy and passion directed away from writing, that passion and pursuit that brings terrific joy and matters so much.
The biggest takeaway I can give you today is this simple exercise:
- Grab your calendar, and look at the past four weeks.
- Write down how many hours you spent actively and productively writing, pitching or submitting your own work.
- Now, estimate how many hours you frittered, wasted or worried away. (Be honest.) Seriously: make your best guess and write down the number. (Try not to judge yourself. We are gathering data here, not conducting an inquisition!)
- Next (this is the important step that most writers will skip because it’s too uncomfortable): think about the areas of your life impacted by each of those hours of struggle. How badly did you strain your health? Your relationships? Your pocketbook? Your happiness?
It’s not easy to look hard and truthfully at how we get in our own way. But seeing the impact of your writing blocks on your life? This is the very first step to facing them… and solving them.
What are your writing struggles costing you, in terms of money, bylines, career opportunities, creative energy or integrity? Publications? Joy?
When you’re ready to take charge of your writing and learn to quickly let your writing struggles go, reach out and let’s set up a chat.
I’ve dedicated my entire career to helping writers like you become the bold and accomplished writers they’ve always known they can be. I’m here to help you, too.
