Have you ever reached a point in your writing where you come to a stand-still? Whether it's writer's block, burnout, pesky self-doubt, or the pressure to write a sequel there are many reasons why writers stop writing.
A Writer Reset is a strategy that writers and creatives can use to help "reset" their creativity and re-spark joy in their creative process. It's well-suited for cases where writing isn't giving you the "feelings" it used to. It'll help restore you on three crucial levels: creativity, motivation, and clarity. In this post, we'll be skimming the surface of what this means.
When Should You Reset...
When the thought of outlining makes you cringe, when you would rather binge Netflix than write a paragraph, when you *gasp* want to burn everything you've ever written rather than ever let it see the light of day, it's a good indication that you're ready to reset.
When you're feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, absorbed by distractions, and find yourself unmotivated to do anything creative. It's time to reset.
And most importantly, if you used to be so excited and happy to explore your world that you'd go to bed dreaming about it and you'd wake up early just to squeeze in a little extra writing time, but now the thought of your writing just makes you sad- it's DEFINITELY time for a change.
The Goal:
Spark joy
Connect you to your why
Refresh you physically, mentally, and creatively
Help you plan out your next step
And most importantly, get you back to writing- faster than ever!
The Writer Reset Guide
For simplicity's sake, we're breaking down the Writer Reset Guide into three guiding principles. Within these principles are a few exercises that will help you rediscover your desire to write.
Creativity: These exercises will help you regain your creativity, refuel your muse, and re-light the spark of your creative flame.
Exercise #1: Clean up your writing space and fill it with new, inspiring items
-This addresses the physical aspect of what holds us back from writing. As humans, we are all visually stimulated by our environments and science backs the correlation of our moods being influenced by our home and work environments. Clutter, uninspiring objects, and even staring at the same space can all have a negative side effect on our writing routine. It can become stale, uninspiring, stressful, distracting, and even a place where it zaps our creativity rather than fuel it.
-The first step of your Writer Reset is to clean up this space. Strip it bare, and physically reset it. Fill it with items you find inspiring in the moment, that spark joy, or make you excited to write. You'll probably notice a feeling of lightness, of relief. The best part- you'll relax where you may have felt tense before. It changes from a dreaded sit-down to a happy place filled with good writing vibes.
Examples of "inspirational" objects that you may use to bring life back into your writing space. Personally we love Gilmore Girls merch, a fresh candle, and a photo frame that will hold our latest headshot photo for the biz.
An example of a cleaned and newly decorated writing desk. This one is from our home office.
Exercise #2: Give yourself permission to create in a different way
-It might sounds silly, but consider that the reason you've stopped writing is that you've pressured yourself into a corner. It's easy to do. We all feel the external pressure to write from social media where we see other authors constantly writing and bragging about their word-filled exploits, from author groups and writer friends where we feel the need to compare and compete, from friends and family who want to see our books, from our pursuit to turn our passion into a full-time income, and from ourselves who feel the need to fulfill all these expectations and not let ourselves down.
-Often when faced with such high levels of pressure we shut down. The muse stops talking and we do everything we can to hinder ourselves. We'd rather do anything other than write and with our frustration comes the dark side of this career. Writing block. Imposter Syndrome. Perfectionism. Burnout. Quitting.
-This is where we need to free ourselves. Part of the Writer Reset is acknowledging that writing is hard, that the dream of writing for a living is hard, that being a creative being is HARD. This is where we forgive our past mistakes, where we stop tearing ourselves down, where we recommit to trying again no matter what our trying looks like. Commit to letting go of your toxic dark writing habits and give yourself permission to create without shame, guilt, or the need to be perfect.
Motivation: These exercises will ignite your drive, inspire you, and help you remember your "why".
Exercise #3: Draw out your Creative Journey Map
-Your creative journey map is a physical map you can make to help you overcome those feelings of perfectionism, self-doubt, and failure. The process of writing and publishing books is a long, arduous, and often thankless business. Even the best authors can feel unaccomplished due to the constant long-term goal setting, and many fizzle out long before they see success.
-Creating your journey map will help you clearly see your big picture, your journey from the very beginning to current day. As humans, we often only focus on the negative and the now. Your map will directly contradict all your feelings of doubt because undoubtedly you've done a lot for your career since the beginning! You've accomplished, failed, tried again, struggled, kept going, won, and did it all over again. Now it's time to prove your worth to yourself.
Here's an example of what your creative journey map might look like. This is based off of our own journey.
Exercise #2: Create inspiration/moodboards to keep you motivated
-Visualizing what you want from your writing is important. Seeing it manifested in front of your writing space every time you sit down is even more powerful. Create your inspiration board on a platform like Canva, print out your photos, and order a cheap linen or corkboard from Amazon and you're good to go! Best part, it's re-customizable so any time your vision changes, you can update it. Not only does it make your writing space more inviting, but it'll keep you motivated year-round.
An example of a what your inspiration board could look like. This is our current one.
Clarity: These exercises will help you gain insight, overcome your fears, and give you a clear next step.
Exercise #3: Figure out what is holding you back
-Within all of us there is a dark kernel rooted into our being that hinders our creativity. It holds us back from pursuing dreams, keeps us in a state of suspension when we want to move forward, and calls us into our comfort zone whenever we stray too far. What the kernel is differs for everyone, but the result is the same. We always end up self-sabotaging.
-On some level, this doesn't even have anything to do with writing. It is a deep-seated insecurity from our past, a nagging thought from four years ago, a memory of a time that we failed, or when we felt let down by something or someone. You may not even realize that it's hindering you creatively until you pin point what it is and how it's affecting your life. That was the case for us.
-It might be difficult to confront, but once you do, your creative process will never be the same after you know what you're up against. To help you identify your kernel, clarify your goals, and build a roadmap to your dream life, we highly recommend The Dream Life Blueprint by Angie Bellemare. This is a LIFE-CHANGING workbook that will help you get back to writing and creating faster than anything else we've ever tried.
Exercise #4: Revisit and update your "why"/purpose for writing
-After working through The Dream Life Workbook, you should have a solid understanding of yourself and what you want out of life. Next it's time to revisit your "why" and your purpose for writing.
-Maybe you started out your writing journey dreaming of becoming a best-selling author, but after working through your goals realized that what you truly want is to be seen by someone. Maybe you thought you'd be okay with a lower threshold of success and realized that your dreams have grown. Whether you've realized that your dreams have grown more idealistic or they've shrunk down a few pegs, updating your life plan for your writing is A-OKAY! Not every dream you come up with when you're younger stays the same when you have more life experience under your belt.
-Give yourself permission to change your dreams and grow. It's all going to work out to your design because at the end of the day, it's your life and you are the writer.
Conclusion:
The Writer Reset method is designed to be repeated. Whenever you feel like self-sabotage is present, when you've hit a road block, or can't figure out why you've stopped writing, revisit and reset!
Comments