Three Questions Writers Can Ask When Feeling Overwhelmed or Confused

by Lori Hatcher

What should I write today? An article? A blog post? Or maybe a chapter in my WIP?

Maybe I should edit what I’ve already written and polish it for publication.

Should I attend a writers conference this year? If so, which one?

Or maybe I should spend my time and money on an online course or hire a coach.

This fascinating/frustrating/joyful/discouraging/exhilarating/maddening writing world has more arms than an octopus and more routes than Google maps. When we consider the myriad of possibilities, we can become paralyzed by indecision. These feelings cloud our judgment and steal our ability to work efficiently. Like a tornado victim after a storm, we scan the 360 of our writing lives and struggle to figure out where to begin.

One day a woman asked missionary/author/speaker Elizabeth Elliott, “What should I do when I’m overwhelmed with tasks and confused by the decisions I face?”

Elliott wisely remarked, “Just do the next thing.”

What does doing the next thing look like in the writing life?

It requires figuring out what the next thing is. We can do this by asking ourselves a series of questions.

3 Questions to Determine What My “Next Writing Thing” Is

1. Do I have a deadline? 

Did I promise someone an article, column, review, or guest blog post? Do I need a piece of writing to bring to a Word Weavers meeting or critique session? Am I under contract for a submission? If yes, then these items should be our “next things.” Write them down and number them in order of deadline priority.

2. If I’m not under a deadline, ask, What action will best move me forward in my writing life?

• Should I join a critique group for accountability and instruction?
• Do I need to pull out my idea file, set my bottom in the chair, and write?
• Should I peruse the Christian Writers Market Guide to find places to submit pieces I’ve already written?
• Maybe I could advance my writing by reading a few articles to help me overcome one of my writing weaknesses (passive voice, stilted dialogue, or flat characters)?

Once we have our set of action items, we should list them in order based on which activities are likely to deliver the best return on our investment. 

3. Are my “next things” truly next things?

When I open my computer in the morning, dings and pings announce that I have email, social media messages, and calendar items waiting. 

“Open me!” they cry. 

But I must resist. I know I’m most creative in the morning. If I fritter away my creativity on mundane tasks like email and social media, by the time I get around to writing, my creative well is dry. I’ve misspent that day’s allotment of energy.

If, however, I jealously guard those early morning blocks of time and spend them writing, no matter what else happens that day, I’ve done the most important thing. 

You may work a day job that limits your writing time. Guard those lunch hours like the Queen’s diamonds. Think about what you’re going to write in advance so you’re ready to go once the lunch bell rings. Or earmark those snatches of time while your toddler sleeps. Or wake up an hour early. Or skip the evening’s TV time. Use your precious minutes to accomplish your most important writing tasks.

Bonus Tip: Avoid letting preference dictate “next things.”

Many writers (my hand is raised) allow preference to dictate which writing tasks we should tackle first. Reworking our latest scene to make it flow better is hard work, but posting on social media is fun. We can’t wait to write that next travel article, but we dread filing our already overdue quarterly sales tax forms. If we follow our hearts, we’ll get stuff accomplished, but it probably won’t be the most important or the most timely item on our list. How about let’s fill out the tax form and THEN write the travel article?

Writer friend, are you feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed by the many steps of this writing journey? If you prayerfully ask God to show you what your “next thing” is, then obey what He tells you to do, He will bless your efforts and take you places you never imagined you would go. 

So, writer, let’s do the next thing!

Now it’s your turn. Join the conversation by sharing what your “next writing thing” is in the comments below.

TWEETABLE

3 Questions Writers Can Ask When Feeling Overwhelmed or Confused from Lori Hatcher on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Lori Hatcher is a freelance editor, writing instructor, and author of six devotionals with Our Daily Bread Publishing. Her latest book, THINK ON THESE THINGS: 60 THOUGHTFUL DEVOTIONS FOR RENEWED PEACE, released this month. Lori writes for Revive Our Hearts, Guideposts, Focus on the Family, The Upper Room, and Crosswalk.com. A frequent instructor at writers conferences around the country, Lori loves nothing better than helping other writers polish and perfect their craft. Connect with her at WWW.LORIHATCHER.COM.