How to Start Writing Again After Falling in the Ditch

Sometimes, in the writer’s life, you’re high-flying — held up by winds of inspiration, discipline, and small victories along the way.

Other times, you find yourself fallen in a ditch somewhere with no idea what just happened.

How it happens doesn’t really matter. How you move forward — that’s what counts. But how can you pick yourself up after a fall, especially one that really knocked you out of the ring?

News Report: My Two Weeks in the Ditch

If you’ve noticed, I haven’t been very active lately — either on this blog or on social media. There’s a reason for that, besides laziness.

I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say a really vicious cold (possibly flu) knocked on my door and invited himself in, then refused to leave, then proceeded to invite his ugly friend Depression who locked me in a closet and ate everything in the fridge.

Jerk.

Anyhow, while all that was going on, I tried to keep writing but simply had no energy or heart to do so. So I let things fall to the ground and lie there for a while.

I don’t regret that — it’s what I needed to do. Sometimes, letting go for a while is the best course.

But when the guests left (FINALLY!), I was left there on the floor looking at all the rubbish left behind — all the scraps of unfinished projects, all the fluttering anxieties of looming deadlines — and a familiar feeling set in.

Perhaps you know it. It’s that circular, tail-chasing feeling of, So much to do. Where do I even start? I need to start, because there’s so much to do…but there’s so much! Where do I start?

And so on.

At this point it’s easy to throw the covers over your head and make up more excuses. (“Erm, I think I hear that flu scratching at the cellar door again … maybe I’d better rest a bit longer?”)

I’ll put this simply: DON’T DO THAT.

Picking yourself up again is a rough job, because you face more friction trying to set something in motion than to keep it in motion. (Physics, y’all.)

But, the good news is, you can do it anyway. It doesn’t even have to be that hard, if you take it in baby steps and start in the right place.

First, Recover Your Writing Vision

Don’t skip this step. It’s hard to get anywhere without a vision, and it’s doubly hard when your former vision (celestial as it was!) has been replaced with noxious ditch water.

Go back and review where you’ve been and where you were going. Re-read the novel you were working on. Revisit a journal. Or — for lack of any of these things — start a new journal and try to recall everything you were working on before the muddy water met your face.

Also, don’t overlook the power of educating yourself. Watch some webinars or tutorials. (Writer’s Digest has great tutorials for a price, but you can find free videos all over the Internet.)

Or, read a book on writing. Read an author who inspires you. I’m not sure why, but these things almost always get the gears turning in my inner motivation compartment.

The key here is to get back into the mindset. If you can do that, you’ve already overcome a huge roadblock– because if your imagination is there, your heart will soon follow.

Organize All the Rubbish Into a Simple Plan

Once you have your vision, you’ll be empowered to tackle the mess.

But, it’s not a good idea to tackle it right away, piecemeal. Not yet. Instead, you should take time to organize a simple plan for moving forward.

Ask yourself: What major steps do I have to take, to get where I want to go? Is it a first draft I have to finish — or perhaps a certain chapter? Do I have revisions to pick up again? Do I have to start researching? Do I have a blog to update, or social media pileups to attend? (Ahem.)

Write all that stuff down. Everything you can think of.

Then, when you’ve got the monster master list, go through and pick out the most urgent things, as well as the most important things. They’re not always the same. (See Stephen Covey’s time management matrix if you’re not sure what I mean.)

Focus on these first, and give yourself permission to put the rest on the back burner. (For now.)

Break That Plan Into Steps, Then Into Daily Action Items

Now you can tackle that mess piecemeal.

And I really mean piecemeal. Those important/urgent things on your list are likely projects that come with action steps of their own.

For example, let’s say you have to research an article. That’s not a specific, half-hour thing that you can just get done. It takes smaller steps, for example:

• developing a question list for your research
• finding good sources
• reading those sources
• compiling the most relevant information from those sources

And so on. Even some of these steps (like finding good sources) are still too broad! Break these things down into their tiniest parts.

Then take those action items in order and give yourself daily missions. “Today, I will complete X, Y, and Z action items on my list.”

“In the next half hour, I will brainstorm 25 blog post ideas.”

“In this morning’s writing session, I will write 500 more words toward finishing this chapter.”

These little action items will do wonders for your focus and sense of accomplishment. Small victories, folks — don’t underestimate how big they can feel.

Shake It Up a Bit & Follow that Foxtrail

So far we’ve more or less been following the same advice self-help books will give you.

Here’s one I didn’t get from a book, but from experience.

When you’re struggling to get back into a project — especially a project where you have a lot of creative freedom, like a story or poem — try doing something crazy.

In your WRITING, of course. (I’m not advocating crashing the Bluesmobile through a shopping mall, all right?)

Use unfamiliar tactics, take risky approaches, toy with out-there ideas. Follow foxtrails in your work — it’s the only way to discover something wild and new.

How will this help, you ask?

Well, when you’re recovering from extended downtime, you’ll need a little extra force to get going — as I illustrated already via physics. The adrenaline rush from taking some crazy creative risk could be just the force you need to overcome your inertia.

And, you may find that the idea wasn’t so crazy after all.

I just managed to get back to work on my novel by backtracking one scene. I cut the last few pages I’d written, then went back and redirected the story toward an idea I really liked, but wasn’t sure could work. Maybe I’ll cut those scenes in the end — who knows? But the experiment did what I needed it to do.

It got me back to work.

Patience, Young Grasshopper!

As you’re getting back into the swing of things, make sure you keep it at a sustainable pace. Be honest about your time and energy limitations, and don’t crowd your days or hours with too many action items.

If you push yourself harder than you can reasonably sustain, you’ll end up falling again. And the cycle will just continue.

Still … keep in mind that falls will happen. Again and again.

When they do, don’t get upset — it happens to all of us. All that matters is that you dust yourself off and get moving again. It sounds like a platitude, I know, and I hate platitudes … but it’s quite true.

Have a little mercy. Forgive yourself the fall, take a deep breath, and lift yourself out of that ditch, step by step.

I’ve shown you what’s worked for me, but of course, it isn’t a complete list. How do you deal with slips and falls in your writing life? What strategies help you get back in the game?

Let me know in the comments!