The Brain Is A Muscle Just Like Any Other. If It's Been A While Since You've Written, It's Gonna Act

The brain is a muscle just like any other. If it's been a while since you've written, it's gonna act like any other muscle you haven't used in a while. That means you might not be able to write as long, or as well, as you want to. Keep going, but go easy on yourself. Do some warm up exercises, or maybe answer a journal prompt, to get your brain going. If you still can't write, step away and try again later, maybe tomorrow. Just keep trying. Don't give up on yourself.

And if you don't hear this from anyone else today, I'm proud of you.

hEY CREATIVES!

Are you stuck scrolling through reddit, twitter, tumblr, tiktok, any media site that gets money from the attention that you give it by granting you little scraps of dopamine whenever you actually find something genuine throughout the mundane?

I need you to pull up a playlist, any playlist. It can be an oc playlist, your world building playlist, mood playlist, etc.

Second, grab your notebook or sketchbook.

Third, get comfy somewhere, like the couch, your partner’s bed, etc (blankets and snacks may be crucial)

LASTLY, start your playlist and place your phone face down and just

Be bored. With your music. For 15 minutes.

Don’t pick up your phone, let your mind wander, and see where it takes you.

"You're freezing. What were you doing out there without a coat?!"

"I— don't remember?"

Answering a question today for LEARNUARY over on our twitter.

Lorenzo!

Breaking 3 Writing ‘Rules’:

If you have ADHD or ASC or are some other flavor of neurodivergent, the ‘rules’ many big name authors post about how they’ve reached success can actually make you feel REALLY BAD because you can’t always do the same thing.

Building a positive relationship with writing can make all the difference in getting you writing more.

'Write every day.’ - Don’t write every day, write when the mood strikes. But you can trick your brain into work mode by trying different things. Put on your shoes when it’s time to write. Light a candle. Put on the same playlist every time. After a while, it’ll be like a light-switch. When you light the candle, your brain will find writing easier. Just don’t force it. When you try to force writing, you build up frustration and resentment if you don’t get anything out. Some days just won’t be writing days. That’s FINE, lots of authors don’t write every day (even if they say they do).

'I write 1000 words every day!’ - Well, if you WANT to write and are struggling, a goal of 1000 words seems really far away. So do incremental goals. One sentence. One paragraph. 100 words. Usually by then you’re in the flow of things and you can write 1000 words pretty easy. And again, celebrate every single one of those goals so you want to keep doing it. One sentence, walk away, come back later, add another, GOOD JOB, two whole sentences!

'Sit down and block out x hours every day just for writing.’ - Actually, the best way I’ve found to write is to tell my brain the deadline or end time is really, really soon - so I write in 20-30 minute chunks, and then walk away or take breaks and come back if I want to later. By setting that arbitrary shorter deadline, my brain can see an end and will work harder and focus more because it knows it’s just for a little bit. If 20-30 minutes is too long, start with 15 minute chunks.