Help! I've Lost the Ability to Write!

Help! I've Lost the Ability or Desire to Write! - The 3 Week Plan to Get Back on Track

I was diving through the writing forums and found a post where someone who wrote non-fiction articles for a company had realized, after leaving their job, that they could not return to writing their fiction. They simply couldn't make it happen. They were so used to the surgical way in which they'd been writing in their previous job that they couldn't figure out how to write for the creative, fun freedom of it. 

Also very recently, I had a very long period of burnout. Months and months of burnout. Not fun. I've been working hard (or, rather, working gently) to pull myself out of my rut and finally get back to my creative projects. And I've known for a while that one of the main issues writers can face is just finding the motivation to write. Once that dries up, sitting down to write can feel like nails against chalkboard. 

So, I decided to sit down and think up a plan - a day by day routine - to help writers who have either lost the ability or motivation to write to get back on the saddle. I came up with a routine that has understanding, gentleness, and grace at its core, and takes about 3-4 weeks to complete. It's baby steps, but sometimes that's exactly what we need while we're recovering from a rut or trying to find our way back. Hopefully, it works for someone out there.

Week 1: Free-write for 5 minutes per day. 

There are no rules, except that you're writing for 5 minutes. 

When I couldn't think of anything to write during a freewriting session, I would write in filler words, repeat what I'd just said, or change the topic entirely.  

It can be about literally anything, even the most mundane or minute details, so don't stress yourself out about it. 

If you really want some guidance, though, check out this list of freewriting prompts to get you started. From there, who knows where your mind will take you?

Week 2: Write 1 snippet per day.

We're moving on to more fictional-focused territory now. If you're not sure what a snippet is, it's sort of like a short scene. Here are some example snippets you can check out. 

Your goal for the second week is to write 1 of these per day. You can come up with the idea you want to write about on your own, but I've always found that getting a writing prompt I'm interested in makes it a lot more fun for me. Here are some writing prompt batches you can peruse. I also have a range of lyric writing prompts and visual writing inspiration over on Pinterest that you can check out.

The great thing about a snippet is that it doesn't have to tell a story from beginning to end. You can focus on one small thing - an interaction between characters, a conversation between two people, or even a vague aesthetic-filled drabble to get your creativity flowing.

NOTE: If the jump from free-writing to writing snippets is a bit too big, it might help to take a week to brainstorm creative writing ideas. That's all it's going to be - brainstorming. Think of a few cool ideas you'd like to write, and jot them down or record the idea on an audio note. Get inspired by checking out awesome art on Pinterest and exploring different writing prompts. At this point in time, don't worry about what's "cliche" or "overdone". This is about you reigniting your writing spark. 

Week 3.1: Write 1 character biography per day.

One of the most important parts of writing a good story is writing an interesting character. Take the time to think about a random character every day. It doesn't have to be a character you'll ever use, and you don't need to go into a whole lot of detail. Try to answer the following questions:

1. Name (optional)
   
2. Occupation
3. Personality
   
4. Biggest Fear
5. Biggest Desire
6. Skills

Maybe, if you're feeling up to it, think about a little paragraph you can write about their backstory or character history. Keep it simple, but get creative. Here's an example character biography you can take a look at for reference, along with my other Character Backstories posts.

Week 3.2: Write about 1 setting per day.

If creating characters just isn't your speed at the moment, try creating some settings. They can be fantastical, wondrous settings or normal, everyday settings. When you're writing about a setting, try to dig into the atmosphere/mood of the place as we as a description. Think about what a character might feel as well as what they'll see, smell, touch, taste, or hear.

If you'd like the challenge, try coming up with one or more problems that this setting might have. For example, a bowling alley might be about to shut down, or an old movie theater is dealing with fewer and fewer customers. Maybe a magical forest is being drained of its magic. Here's an example virtual setting from my sci-fi Neon Vape that you can check out for reference, and you can also take a look at this fantasy setting from The Beast of Ildenwood.

NOTE: Week 3.1 and 3.2 are alternates of each other. You can choose to do both at the same time, one after the other, or you can choose which one of them you want to do. The goal here is that you're taking the time to get back into the groove of constructing some of the fundamental elements of your story: your setting and your characters. These elements put together can be used to fuel an interesting story.

I hope this routine helps you ease your way back into writing. Coming from someone who had to deal with burnout for many months, I know exactly how it feels to feel like you just can't get back into writing. 

This is only one of many different kinds of routines or schedules you can make for yourself to get back on track with your creative writing. If you don't think the 3-week plan above is going to be all that helpful to you, why not take it as a template and replace the activities with tasks that you think will be better-suited for you?

Happy writing!

 

~⭐~

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