From Edie: Tim Suddeth shares four practical ways to rediscover the joy of writing, rekindle creativity, and make writing fun again when it starts to feel like work.
When Writing Stops Being Fun: 4 Ways to Find Your Writing Joy Again
by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth
When was the last time you allowed yourself to write for fun. Just for the fun of it.
Or, scarily, when was the last time you did anything for fun? Is that even allowed now that you’re an adult? Or old? (However you want to define it. I define it as the time when you lose your ability to have fun.)
A friend of mine recently talked about her mom sitting on the grass picking the wildflowers. At her nursing home.
It made me sad that more of us aren’t doing that. Taking time to enjoy nature. Or whatever. It’s not because we don’t have the time. We can always turn off the TV or put down the phone for a few minutes. (I know. Forgive my blasphemy.) Now, I’m of the age where I see a problem in standing back up. But a few minutes being back in ‘kidland’ might be worth the aggravation. (Just make sure there’s someone nearby to help you up.)
I mean, why should the kids—folks under thirty—have all the fun?
Time can sap the pleasure and the passion from our writing. Whether we’re writing articles, a book, a project, or just developing our craft of writing period, the years can their toll. Life circumstances demand their amounts of energy. And all that energy you used to have, you will discover, fades away.
And that excitement that drew you to the blank page before, eh, it can wait til later.
But even if you find that your enthusiasm has lessened, there are some steps you can take to keep that joy from disappearing. And they might let you renew your friendship with that blinking curser.
Four Steps to Putting the Joy Back into Your Writing
1. Remember Your Why
Many of us started writing with a twinkle in our eyes. Even if it was after we had kids. Or started retirement. We started writing because we found pleasure in it. Whether it was from creating new worlds and characters, sharing what we learned with others, or sharing the journey of our lives, we enjoyed putting our ideas on the page.
But somewhere after we started focusing on word counts, deadlines, algorithms, and submission guidelines, writing became more of a chore to check off our list instead of a gift to enjoy.
So, what was your why? Maybe you began by writing stories of your family heritage and local history. Or studying the Bible for practical insights for devotions or Bible studies. Or you grew up reading Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie and enjoyed thinking up novel ways to solve a mystery. Take a few minutes to write your why in your journal and think about how it makes you feel now.
2. Be Happy with Less
Sounds so un-American, doesn’t it?
We burn our candles from both ends. We get up at dawn so we can get an early start on the day to do our work, only to find ourselves staying up late trying to get the rest of it done. Then, we wake up the next morning, rinse and repeat. At the end of the week, we can only flop on the couch and wonder why the week flew by so fast.
We schedule a ten-day work agenda into five days.
Some of the stuff on your list, just don’t. Yes, the folks on Tik Tok can do all this and more and never crease their pants. No.
Don’t look to social media to establish your standards. In fact, don’t look at other writers. You don’t know what’s going on in their lives or the plans He has arranged for them.
Instead of looking at the Joneses, or the Pattersons, prayerfully consider your priorities, goals, and opportunities.
3. Doing Something Energizing
It may not be that we lost our passion. It’ might be that we just get tired. The candle has burned down to a stub.
It amazes me how much energy writing takes. I mean, I’m just sitting in my chair pressing buttons. While staring at the wall, figuring out what comes next. And parsing the stupid verbs. And then going back and redoing the words underlined in red.
There’s a lot of work going on while I’m sitting still.
So, take a break occasionally. If you’re on a deadline, set a timer. I mean, let’s not get carried away. But give your brain a moment to focus on something else. Take a walk. Look at the leaves. Play with your dog, or cat, or goldfish.
Yesterday, my family took a ride to the mountains. So relaxing.
4. Find Your Group
If you plan to write for an extended amount of time and/or to be published, you need to find a group, or groups, of like-minded writers.
That doesn’t mean they have to be like you. I’m often one of the few, if not the only, males in the group. The key, though, is that we are all writers. We each understand how hard it is to daily come up with creative and entertaining ideas. We also know the joy of daily coming up with creative and entertaining ideas.
A group is there to help you grow. To commensurate with you when you have rejections. (Just a part of writing for each of us.) And to celebrate when you meet a new milestone. (Whether it’s getting published or finishing a chapter.)
One of the main ways my group helped me when I wrote my second book was to keep me accountable. Each week, I had to bring them my writing for that week. And I wasn’t about to let them down. They sometimes surprised me by laughing out loud at one of my characters. And sometimes they had to help me dig deeper when something I thought was obvious wasn’t on the page.
A writing group, whether in person or virtual, is key to making you the best writer you can be.
Like everything in life, your writing will have its ups and downs. No matter what level of writer you become. Many of us think, “If only I can get published I will have it made.” But there’s always a new goal, a new challenge to face and conquer. And to be intimidated by.
We grow stronger. The hurdles grow taller. So we have to keep showing up.
Now, I think I’ll go outside and pull some weeds.
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