Not In The Mood To Write? 5 Ways To Break The Curse

Some days, I don’t feel like writing. I have a bucketful of excuses:

“I’m tired.”

“I’m sad.”

“I’m sick.”

“It’s grey and muggy outside.”

“I worked all day.”

And the list goes on.

While it’s important to give your brain a rest now and then, giving yourself too much time away from your writing keeps your story from ever becoming polished or, worse, reaching its ending.

So when you know you should write, and you’re still not in the mood, here’s how to shake off this unwanted curse.

Book The Time

You wouldn’t skip out on a meeting just because you weren’t in the mood. So give your writing that same importance, even if it’s just you in attendance. Schedule it in your planner and on your electronic calendar. Set alarms so you don’t bail (or forget).

Change Places

If your usual writing workspace isn’t working for you today, then write somewhere else. Write outside in your backyard or at a park. Or, go to a public place like the library or café. Decide what you’ll accomplish before you come back home so that your time away was spent efficiently.

Switch It Up

The same-old, same-old can really spoil the writing mood. So try freshening up your routine a bit. If you always listen to rock music, switch to jazz or classical. If you always type out your stories on the computer, try freehand writing. Pressing refresh on your creativity can do wonders for your motivation.

Commit To Less

Only commit to sitting at your desk—that’s it. Don’t commit to writing ten pages or even one word. Once you sit at your writing workspace, you’re more likely to actually write. I explain how this approach really works here.

Start With Something Else

Why start your writing session with your daunting task? Writing should be fun, so let your brain warm up with a writing prompt or tackle 500 words on a project you haven’t touched on in awhile. Once your brain is excited to write, taking on your writing project is easy.

How do you shake off that blah feeling when you’re not in the mood to write? Share your strategy below.