Battle of the Mind

I'm the first to admit I suffer from crippling self-doubt when it comes to writing, but the other thing that gets me down is writer's block. Now depending on what you read or believe, some writers believe in it and others don't. I believed it did exist and was fighting my way around and through it until this morning when I found this quote:

“I’ve always said “Writer’s Block” is a myth. There is no such thing as writer’s block, only writers trying to force something that isn’t ready yet. Sometimes I don’t write for weeks. And then all of the sudden I’ll get a rush of inspiration and you can’t drag me away from my notebook. But I don’t stress out if I don’t hit some arbitrary word count each day or if I go a few days without writing something.” — Julie Ann Dawson

This rings so true for me. I go through periods of inspirational bursts where I'll write for hours and days, fully committed to the story coming to life in my head, and then I'll crash and not write for days or weeks.

After finding that quote, I suddenly feel better about my writing process. I know in myself I can't force myself to sit down and write, the perfectionist in me will not allow it knowing I tend to do what sometimes feels like a hundred rewrites.

I need to learn to celebrate the bursts of inspiration when they come, but I'm happy to hear from anyone who might have any tips and tricks for when a muse abandons me.

L.E