Life happened. During the months of March, April, June, and July, I’d been having difficulty making time to do writerly things. Work was super busy, and my orchestra played a BIG concert at the end of June, so most of my free time went into rehearsals and orchestra stuff.
As a result, I didn’t post a lot on my author Instagram, I didn’t really respond to DMs, I didn’t read much, and I neglected my WIP. When I DID have a few moments to spare, I couldn’t seem to find the mental space to write.
This had me wondering: was I still a writer? Did my lack of writerly space mean I didn’t really WANT to create my book? If I’d wanted it badly enough, wouldn’t I be MAKING more time—regardless of my other obligations? Wasn’t it my responsibility to make my dreams come true? Hellooo, self-doubt and imposter syndrome!
The Mental Space
In my writing, mental space is everything. My creative ideas can’t flow if there’s not enough space for them to sit and breathe.
Whenever I’m busy, especially over a longer period of time, my mind will perpetually focus on the various things that are making me busy: Day Job stuff, orchestra stuff, life problem stuff. ALL THE STUFF.
This takes up most of my mental space, so when I have a bit of free time, I find myself thinking about ALL THE STUFF (and, more importantly, what I need to do to address ALL THE STUFF) instead of focusing on my writing stuff.
The Solution
Over the past few months, I’ve been lurking on the Internet, trying to find a solution, reading all the tips and tricks from more experienced writers on how to create more mental space for writing. Their advice is a seemingly endless (and at times contradictory) list: go outside, put your butt in the chair, exercise, relax, take a creative trip, schedule regular writing sessions, shuffle your routine, watch inspiring YouTube videos, do a workshop, read a lot of books, …
Be Kind
Most importantly, however, the writerly experts seem to agree on one super crucial thing: be kind to yourself.
Life happens. It gets in the way sometimes, and we need to let that be okay. Only then can we begin to rediscover our writerly feet, put our butts back in the chair, and write.
Sooo, here’s to trying to be kind and letting things be okay! Cheers!