One way to get unstuck
by a writer who was very, very stuck.
As you may recall, I’m currently at work on my third novel. Which means that by now, I know exactly what I’m doing, no problemo. Right?
Alas, no. About a month ago, I got stuck.
I had started my novel’s third draft upon returning from my MFA residency in January. Here’s the thing about enrolling in a graduate-level writing program: suddenly, you’re accountable not just to yourself and your writing group. Now you’re accountable to a professor! A very smart and accomplished writer and teacher! And it is one thing to disappoint yourself (this happens frequently, no?) but it’s another entirely to disappoint The Award Winning Writer Who Will Read and Critique Your Work.
So, facing monthly deadlines for said professor, I launched into the third draft (which has been a bear, acting more like a first draft, requiring a rewrite from scratch, a new plot, etc). But I was losing energy and motivation, beginning to feel like I was kidding myself and the world, that I wasn’t a writer, that my only two novels were behind me, and what terrible timing to commit to an MFA program because I was done, vanquished, spent.
Soon, every time I sat down to work on my novel, I’d do anything within my power not to write. Not merely the usual distractions of Wordle or Instagram; no, I had reached the point of reading emails! Business trends emails, lengthy missives from my children’s schools, “remember these memories from sixteen years ago” emails from Shutterfly. All emails were fair game. I even screenshotted an ad that appeared as a pop-up in my email, because I liked it, and because I Didn’t. Want. To. Write.
This, friends, was a very bad sign. I was STUCK. I wasn’t finding joy in writing anymore, so I avoided it. But not writing made me more stressed, and that stress rendered the act of writing even less joyful. This was a vicious circle.
I had to find a way off the hamster wheel of pain. I had to try something new.
Inspiration struck in the form of an email from Grant Faulkner (a silver lining to reading my emails!) in which he noted that he’ll occasionally do 10-minute writing sprints. Huh, ten minutes. Even I could jump off the hamster wheel to try that.
My idea was this: I’d write about someone (or something) in my novel—not the next scene—without worrying about whether this thing I’d write would find a place in the novel. Set the timer for 10 minutes and free write (by hand) to some prompt I’d create.
And: voilà, this worked! For the past two weeks, I’ve started most writing days with a 10-minute, handwritten, free writing sprint. Afterwards, it’s like something has been shaken loose, like there was a pebble blocking the tap and now the water could flow. I could get back into my novel and not resent it. Maybe, even, feel some joy in the process.
I think there are two takeaways here.
When you’re feeling Resistance, try biting off smaller chunks. Normally my writing sprints last for 25 minutes, but somehow, committing to only 10 minutes was enough to get me back on track.
Try doing something by hand (writing or otherwise). Normally I draft and revise on my computer, but for these sprints, I made a mess, writing in cursive on the backs of pages of my last draft. It was freeing. A recent article in the Times bears this out: Working With Your Hands Is Good For Your Brain (that link should be paywall-free).
Recommendations:
Listen: Rethinking with Adam Grant (podcast). I know what you’re thinking, yuck, business. But no. Here, Grant interviews some fantastic guests and the convos are brain-stimulating (for me, anyway). For writers, I especially recommend the episodes with Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and Steve Martin. I also loved the interview with Robin Arzón, one of my favorite Peloton instructors.
Listen: Act Four of Episode 826 of This American Life (podcast). Blew my mind. I have never heard of this and still can’t get over it. There is a novel waiting here.
Watch: The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix documentary). A film about the making of “We Are the World,” full of footage from the night as well as commentary from many of the stars who are still with us. Fun and engrossing and feels a little bit like you’re a fly on the wall at a 1983 Grammys afterparty.
Visit: Standard Ebooks (website). Like Project Gutenberg, which transcribes works that have entered the public domain and makes them available for ereaders, only this site formats them nicely and edits them (with human, volunteer editors). I haven’t tried it yet but I will, soon! A great excuse to read some more classics. (H/T Jane Friedman)
Reading Corner:
My favorite book I’ve read in the past two months is probably Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino. It’s funny and voicey and a little weird and very poignant. A coming-of-age tale by a girl from Philadelphia, daughter to a single mom, growing up in the ‘80’s, who is pretty sure she’s an alien.
On the lighter side, my friend Ann Kim’s novel Relative Strangers just came out, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s a contemporary retelling of Sense and Sensibility but set at a cancer retreat center in the Bay Area. Two Korean-American sisters, one a bit of a mess, trying to keep their family home, among other challenges.
Lastly, if you have suffered from a lack of writerly inspiration recently, 1000 Words by Jami Attenberg is like having a cheerleader beside your writing desk. With essays and letters from many writers, in bite-sized chunks, this book encourages us to do the work, get the words on the paper, be playful, and rediscover the joy.
So let me know: how do you get unstuck? And what books have you read recently that you’d recommend?
Great post Jill. I love the ideas. I have been SOOOO bad about procrastinating lately. Thanks for the inspiration.
Love the idea of bite-sized chunks of writing! 20 minutes of free writing when I started my memoir helped make it accessible. So glad you got unstuck!