“The writer has to force himself to work. He has to make his own hours and if he doesn’t go to his desk at all there is nobody to scold him.”
Roald Dahl
We’ve all been there. Staring at the blank page, or empty screen. Thinking.
“Man. I really don’t wanna write.“
I think it a fair assumption that most, if not all, people who choose to spend their free time writing, come into the craft with an interest. A passion. Something inside them that–on some base level–enjoys writing. Enjoys the craft of telling stories.
I know I do.
And yet whenever the time comes to write, I sit down and think of all the other things I could be doing.
Do you know Crusader Kings 3 just came out? I can tell you it has been something of a distraction for me. Why should I spend my time writing down my garbage stories, editing my pathetic prose, or actually structuring my plots, when I could instead be throwing hours into something that gives me instant satisfaction?
But there is one tool in your arsenal. One final weapon to help you fend off the lurking monster of procrastination. And it’s the same reason you’re procrastinating to begin with.
You can do whatever you want.
And you can write what you want to write.
“A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom.”
Roald Dahl
At moments like these, I need to come back to why I enjoy writing to begin with.
Not the gritty elements of story and plot that I’ve decided I need to cover ahead of time. But the simple pleasure in writing pieces, not because I need to, not because the plot of my story demands it, but simply because I enjoy writing.
I go back to writing things I like writing.
We all have something we cannot help but enjoy writing. Characters that make us chuckle, events that bring a smile.
So go back to writing a scene you know you’ll love to write, just for thirty minutes or so. To remind you why you enjoy doing this. Maybe it’s a comic rogue in your story. Maybe it’s an action scene with characters using impractically large swords that Freud would have a field day with. Maybe it’s a blog post relating story craft to Italian cuisine. Who knows better than you?
If you’re feeling down, remind yourself why you started doing this to begin with. You’ll write better for it.
Did you enjoy this?
Come chat to us, we run a weekly writing circle on Discord, involving writers of prose and screenplays alike. If you’re interesting in joining, feel free to reach out to us at fellowshipofink@gmail.com, or via our twitter.
The Fellowship Of Ink 