A Pep Talk for All the Struggling Writers — YOU CAN DO THIS!

And who knows? Maybe this pep talk will help me as well!

Anyway, I’ve sort of abandoned my blog for around three weeks, because I’ve been struggling so much with my book I just haven’t been in the mood to post. Especially not about writing.

I suppose part of me was like, “How are you supposed to post about writing if you’re not writing??? If you’re a bad writer??”

And the reason those thoughts have been floating around my head is because, I am struggling.

A lot.

But perhaps the pep talk will make things clearer than just me rambling on and on…..

~ ~ ~

I’m sure all writers have it at some point. A point when they’re stuck on writing. A point when they are so so so lost, they don’t even have anything to write and are stuck in their room, mulling over their plot surrounded by a ton of messy notes.

I thought I was the only one.

After all… all these AuthorTubers on YouTube, I see them writing their book. Making such PROGRESS. But not me. And the reason why is because, well, they actually HAVE something to write. I….. kind of don’t right now.

I’m sort of floating. In the in-between space. Trying to figure out the plot and the story. Only then will I have anything to write.

But things have been exceptionally hard for me. And now that I’m trying to get it all out… I can’t. My brain is seemingly frozen. But I shall attempt to get it out…..

I’ve been struggling a lot with writing recently, feeling so LOST and so FRUSTRATED. Nothing has been cooperating. The plot is just SUCH A TANGLE. And I’m not having fun with it.

And isn’t the point of writing to have fun?

Therefore if I am struggling like this and not even enjoying the process, I shouldn’t be a writer.

I have seemingly fallen into the trap of thinking that, ‘if I am a writer, then writing shouldn’t be this hard!!! It shouldn’t be this stressful at all!!!!’

And then I said the words out loud.

And also realized how ridiculous those two sentences were.

Because writing is hard. It’s not meant to be easy! It’s not meant to be un-stressful! Even for the seasoned writers — they struggle with writing as well! Fall into plot holes, get tripped up in plot tangles, get lost in the Empty Void of Can’t Figure Out This Plot.

And I’m sure you have too.

Every book is different.

Every story I write is a first for me. First time writing 1st person POV, first time writing a book that’s not a quest, etc. And the next stories I write will be a first for me as well! First time writing dark fantasy, first time writing YA, first time writing contemporary, first time writing from the POV of an animal, whatever.

And that means that with every book comes it’s very own set of challenges.

Writing books two and three of the Enchantria series was easy for me. I don’t know why. It just was. And for some reason, I assumed that if I was a ‘real writer’ then every other book should be just as easy!

But instead, I think the opposite happens. For me… every book I write seems to get harder.

So much so, that I fell into that trap of thinking I wasn’t a real writer. That writing shouldn’t be this hard. I started heaping loads of pressure onto myself.

And that doesn’t help.

I also realized that with all the pressure, I was starting to worry about if others would like my book. If others would want to read it. If it would sell. The pressure was utterly crippling.

But the truth is, worrying about that is futile. You can’t control if others are going to like this book. You can’t control if it’ll sell or not. The only thing you can control is how you see the book. Which is why I think it really is important to write for yourself first.

Focus on writing a story you love, a story you want to see out there.

The rest can come later.

Writing is never easy and it’s supposed to be a challenge. It’s supposed to make you fall in plot holes, trip up in plot tangles, and get lost in the Endless Void of Can’t Figure Out This Plot. It really is all a part of the journey, and you kind of have to go through all this. It’ll make you a better writer in the end.

But I think the important thing really is that you have a story to come back to. A story you love. A story that makes your heart sing. If you have a story that you love and write the story that you need to tell, then I think it makes all the rough patches of this journey worth it.

I don’t have any one formula for how to get through the rough patches.

But I can promise you, that you will get through this. You will figure this story out.

But.

You can only do that if you don’t quit.

And you can only do it if you believe you can. And it’s alright if it feels impossible. If you don’t think you can. Every writer feels that way at one point.

But even so, I still urge you to pick yourself back up and write. And stop telling yourself “it’s impossible.” Tell yourself, “I can and will do this”, even if you don’t believe it at first. Keep saying it. And keep writing. Silence that inner critic (if you’re anything like me, you will have to teach your inner critic a great amount of discipline and lock it in the closet while setting it on fire).

And know that you can do this.

Yes, this is hard.

But this is something that every single writer in the world has gone through!!!!!!!!!!!! Even me! Even your favorite bestselling authors.

And they still did it anyway.

Proof that it is NOT impossible.

Which means that you can do this. Writing is meant to be hard, but you have to push through till you reach the end victorious.

And in case you need another reminder…

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!

and

YOU WILL DO THIS!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I suppose this wraps up my pep talk. I don’t know if this is any good or not, but I hope it helped! ^^ Now back to my little writing cave which now consists, not of crystals and unicorns, but of storms and drifting Islands and forbidden elements…..

-Isabelle