I don't feel like writing, what do I do?

As I was in the middle of my Camp NaNoWriMo challenge for 2024 I was having the hardest time achieving my goal that I had set to edit/revise1000 words a day. The month before I found that I was far surpassing my daily word count goal of 300 words. I figured that it wouldn’t be hard at all to bump my daily writing goal to 1000 a day specifically for the month of July.

But I was wrong.

It was especially difficult when I was finishing up putting in my corrections for a chapter I was hoping to finish. I knew that it wasn’t a writer's block, I knew exactly what to write since I had everything in red ink ready to be transcribed. But it felt like I was dragging my mind through thick mud just trying to get a word on the page.

So what happened?

Writing is a lot like a muscle, you’re going to have good days and you’re going to have bad days just like athletes when they kill it in the gym or have an off day. If we don’t exercise it we lose our mental strength and momentum to pursue our dreams. But if we overdo it, we lose time trying to mentally recover from burnout.

So if you don’t feel like writing, what can you do?

I am by no means an expert in writing, but I do feel like throughout time and consistent practice I have been able to come up with some ways that help me avoid both burnout and procrastination.

Try not to over exert yourself

Generally when I am not in the midst of a writing challenge I am very cautious about over exerting myself. When you run into writer's block, don’t just sit there and let your mind fester. If you’re a pantser like me - skip to another portion. If you feel security in your outline, go back to it and make it more detail oriented in the same spot or in another portion before continuing.

Something I have learned is when I force myself to write I am only doing myself a disservice. I will not feel as motivated to write the next day or even the next time I write and I often procrastinate.

Understand that any form of writing counts

Even if you were only able to write a small paragraph based on time restraints or simply having low mental energy or ideas. That is still writing. If you decided to completely adjust something in your outline - that is still writing. Word count does not define if you wrote that day or not. Writing is so many things, even if you just decided to do some writing warm ups. That is still writing.

The main purpose that word count provides is giving you a goal metric to write quicker which does not necessarily mean writing better. Word count in of itself is neutral where you set the parameters.

Do something that can help your story in the future

If writing your story is not going to happen today look at some inspiration book covers. Think of some things to add to your outline, work on world building. These things will still add incredible value to your story and are necessary for your book stand out.

What are some things that have helped you gain back your motivation to write

?