Getting Out of a Writer’s Rut

Sometimes life hands you lemonade right after you’ve brushed your teeth. That’s how the last few weeks have felt for me. Dealing with a medical emergency for one of my children as well as a turn of events in my husband’s cancer, left me little time to write. That happens sometimes, doesn’t it? The problem is that writing is almost as necessary as air for a writer.  How do you get out of a writer’s rut?

Getting out of a writer’s rut can be a chore

In physics, there is a principle known as Newton’s first law of motion – sometimes referred to as the law of inertia.

“An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”

So here we are in a writer’s rut. We will stay in this rut without being acted upon by some unbalanced force. That requires effort.

Be willing to accept less than the best

Sometimes as writers, we feel as though we need to create something great with our words or it’s not worth the effort. This can lead to writer’s rut. We sit in front of our laptops with fingers poised to tap out a tale for the ages and nothing of consequence comes to our minds. Call it distraction or writer’s block. Whatever it is, you can get beyond it.

Because the ideas may not come easily, you might need to resort to some of my favorite tools. The first is the Jar of Ideas (click on the link to learn more about using a jar of ideas). These are pre-written writing prompts which you can pull out of a jar and use to spark creativity. Sometimes they will yield a good piece of writing. Just as often, the result is blah. That’s okay. You are creating a habit. You are moving out of the writer’s rut.

Try a different environment

Getting out of a writer’s rut sometimes requires a different location. When I struggle to stay focused, I go to my local coffee shop, buy a smoothie and write for a couple of hours. I always manage to leave feeling as though I’ve accomplished something. That feeling of accomplishment is invigorating. You remember why you chose to be a writer.

Respond to get out of a writer’s rut

Another way to get you into the writing mood is to read an article in a newspaper, blog, or magazine. Then respond. You don’t have to send your response. The exercise of processing someone else’s thoughts on a topic and then responding to them becomes a sort of conversation. Most people never have trouble talking to other people. This is very much like that. The important thing is that it gives you a little push. Sometimes, that’s all you need.

I’m in a writer’s rut

I haven’t written much in the last couple of weeks and when I do write, it feels uninspired. Yet, I need to keep going. I’m behind on my blogging schedule and I haven’t gotten any farther on my revision of Facing Cancer as a Friend.

This post is the product of what I am talking about: getting back on the horse and riding until it feels natural again.  Hopefully, it will help you get out of your writer’s rut.

What are YOUR thoughts?

I’d love to hear in the comment section, below. I appreciate my readers as well as the writing community. To show that appreciation, I use Comment Luv. Just leave a comment below and your latest post will get a link next to it. Thank you!

About Heather Erickson

I am an author, writer, and speaker and homeschooling mom of 3. Since doctors diagnosed my husband, Dan with stage IV lung cancer in 2012, I’ve focused my writing and speaking on helping cancer patients and their families advocate for themselves and live life to the fullest, in spite of their illness. My goal is to help people face cancer with grace. My books are available at Amazon.com:

The Memory Maker’s Journal 

Facing Cancer as a Friend: How to Support Someone Who Has Cancer

Facing Cancer as a Parent: Helping Your Children Cope with Your Cancer

I also blog about living with cancer at Facing Cancer with Grace.