9 Things You Can Do When You Don’t Feel Like Writing

Last Updated on July 15, 2020 by Nathaniel Tower

I recently saw this pseudo-inspirational quote on Facebook: “If I only wrote when I felt like writing, I’d never write anything.”

There’s a fair amount of true to this. How often do you really feel like writing? Unfortunately for me, the answer is not enough. More often than not, I’d rather fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way. A big part of this is because so much of my career requires me to write. Since I’m writing a good portion of the day, I usually don’t feel like writing for pleasure when I get home. I’m also usually ass tired, just like everyone else in the world.

If I only wrote when I felt like writing, I’d probably only have a handful of published stories to my name. In order to write productively, I sometimes have to force myself to do it.

So how do you overcome this lack of motivation? Here are nine things you can do to get the juices flowing even when you don’t feel like writing.

9 things to do when you don't feel like writing

Re-read something you’ve written

Re-reading a work-in-progress or an unpublished story can inspire you either to get back to work on writing or to send out your work. Additionally, re-reading a story of yours that’s been published might rekindle your love for writing and remind you how good you are at it. This is my favorite approach to writing when I don’t feel like writing, and I would estimate it works at least 75% of the time. (The remaining 25% of the time it just makes me curse myself, but that’s another topic completely.)

Make a list

Making a list is probably the easiest type of writing you can do. It doesn’t have to be anything profound. It could be “10 reasons I don’t want to write right now” or “5 reasons I’d rather scoop out my own eyeballs than write another word.” Whatever list you want to work on, just get it down on paper. Making a list will almost always inspire you to write something. Hell, it’s how this blog post came to be!

Read a book

What’s the best way to become a better writer? It’s by reading, of course. If you don’t feel like writing, just pick up the nearest book and read that instead. It will make you a better writer in the long run, and it might spark something in you right now that will make you suddenly start writing. Even if you don’t write a word, at least you’ll get some good reading in. After all, you probably aren’t reading enough.

Outline your next story

You know you have tons of ideas in your head. So take one of them and make an outline. It doesn’t matter which one you choose. For the record, I hate outlining. I almost never outline before writing a story. But when I don’t feel like writing, outlining is an easy way to get me to see what I need to be writing. Most of the time, I usually abandon my outline within a few minutes and start writing for real instead.

You can also try one of these tips to help you beat writer’s block!

Brainstorm

Remember brainstorming? It’s not just something to do in middle school English class. As I just mentioned, you have tons of ideas in your head. Put them down on paper so you can see them. Brainstorming is easy and requires no real commitment to anything. Just jot down as many ideas as you can no matter how terrible they are. You’ll find something worthwhile in there. As soon as you see it on paper, you’ll want to write about it.

Ask a friend

Send a friend a message asking what you should write about. No matter what they send you back, you have to write about it. Even if they don’t have any good ideas, then write about how your friend is worthless and doesn’t have good ideas. Whatever it takes to get some words down on the paper.

Go for a walk or a run

A walk or a run is a great way to get the mind moving. What typically will happen here is you’ll get a couple miles from your house and then all of a sudden your mind will explode with ideas of things to write about. You’ll have to hustle home to get those things down on paper before you forget them all.

Lock yourself in a room with no distractions other than a piece of paper and pen

Maybe you don’t feel like writing because there is so much other shit going on around you. Disconnect from all the social media noise and get yourself in an environment where writing is the only thing you can do.

Shut up and write anyway

Who cares if you don’t feel like writing? This isn’t a good excuse for not writing. Think of all the other things in life you don’t feel like doing. If you didn’t do any of them, you’d probably be dead right now. Just sit down and write. Most of the time, that’s really all there is to it.

Still struggling to figure out what to do when you don’t feel like writing? Then leave a comment below and we’ll talk about it. That will get your writing juices flowing! Or, if you’d rather, you can work on some of these great writing prompts.

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8 thoughts on “9 Things You Can Do When You Don’t Feel Like Writing

  1. The problem I’ve had has been a sense of paralysis I’ve felt for a couple of months now while I wait for a publisher to give me the final word on a manuscript I submitted. I just blogged about this. I literally had to vacuum the dust off my “portable office” the other day. Yesterday, I made myself sit down and reread the WIP (always a great piece of advice). In the background, I had a DVD of “Authors Anonymous” playing on the TV (it always makes me laugh). In a couple of hours, I was able to do a few needed edits and transition to the next scene that I was previously unsure how to handle. Sometimes, you just have to work to find the groove again. Having a few tried and true “tricks” to get the mind in line always helps.

  2. I think your last point is most apropos to me. When I sit down with no idea what I should/could work on and no motivation for any of it, I find that if I just begin something/anything, I seem to get going despite my misgivings.

  3. Writing is not everyone’s cup of tea but still writing alone is taking over all the freelance jobs. It might be unbelievable but more than 35 percent of world’s population is now getting involved in writing business either through freelance or websites or any other channels. Freelance writing business is turning to be the most dominating jobs worldwide.

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