Category Archives: Writer’s Block

Overcoming Writing Excuses: Start Your Book Today

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You have an idea for a novel/nonfiction book/stage play/screenplay/book of poetry/book of essays/etc. but you haven’t been able to actually do anything with it.

It sits there. An idea. Going nowhere.

If you don’t activate it soon, you’ll lose interest in it and enthusiasm about it.

You may have any number of excuses for not moving forward and developing your idea. Some of the most common excuses are:

  1. I don’t have time to write.
  2. I don’t know how to write or, I don’t know how to do this kind of writing.
  3. I’m not good with spelling and grammar.
  4. Other people whose works I’ve read are really good writers. Where do I get the nerve to even think that I can write in their space?
  5. This will take me such a long time. Is it even worth it to start?
  6. What if I finish it and it doesn’t get published?
  7. What if it turns out to be awful? I’d be so embarrassed.
  8. What if it gets published or I self-publish it and no one reads it?

Most of these excuses are bullshit, and badass writers don’t indulge in bullshit. Acknowledge them for what they really are: AN EXPRESSION OF FEAR.

  1. I don’t have time to write. There are ways to squeeze writing time into the busiest schedule. I’ll recommend some in another post. But this is probably about you being afraid. If you write TEN MINUTES A DAY, you’ll put it more than an hour a week. You can accomplish a lot in an hour.
  2. I don’t know how to write or, I don’t know how to do this kind of writing. You learn. You learn by doing and by reading about writing. There are MANY resources available to you (including some I offer).
  3. I’m not good with spelling and grammar. Then you write what you want to write and either hire an editor/proofreader or get that smart English major friend of yours to correct your masterpiece for a few beers.
  4. I’ve read books like the one I want to write by really good writers. Where do I get the nerve to even think that I can write in their space? These writers inspired you to write! And keep in mind the fact that they didn’t start out being really good writers. They probably started out feeling just as doubtful about their ability as you do now – BUT THEY DID START.
  5. This will take me such a long time. Is it even worth it to start? That’s something you need to decide. However, wasting time thinking this way will not get you to the finish line any faster.
  6. What if I finish it and it doesn’t get accepted by a publisher? Then you self-publish it. (SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION ALERT: See my course, How to Self-Publish Your Badass Book on Amazon. It’s on Teachable.com.)
  7. What if I self-publish it and no one reads it? You will have to promote the hell out of it. I cover how to do that in the above-mentioned course.
  8. What if it turns out to be awful? I’d be so embarrassed. There is no limit on the number of times you can revise it. You can continue to improve that. You can hire a co-writer or an editor to help you improve it.

There. There is no excuse for the excuses you’re using to excuse yourself from writing what you want to write.

Get to it.

Give Yourself Permission to Suck

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Too many wannabe writers stay in that wannabe category because they’re afraid of writing badly. Their internal critic kicks in – often before they’ve even started that writing project that’s been living in their head, screaming to get out.

Fear of failure can hobble you.

Understand that the first draft of anything is rarely good. Often, it’s a mess. If you’re writing fiction, it could be a jumble of cliched characters and ill-conceived plot points. If you’re writing nonfiction, it might be a disorganized presentation of the information you want to provide to readers.

You know where you want to go, but you don’t yet know how you’re going to get there.

Embrace the Mess

Push through your doubt, SHUT YOUR INTERNAL CRITIC UP, and write that first draft in a way that works for you. I like to use a stream-of-consciousness, jot-down-everything-that-occurs to me style. Figuring out how it all will come together comes later. For me. The premise must be in place first. For me.

Your first draft writing style might be different from mine. That’s ok. You might not yet know what your first draft writing style is. That’s ok, too. Experiment.

Whether you want to craft an outline or randomly write down ideas as they occur to you, I encourage you to not try and exert too much control over your material. Give it the freedom it needs to take you to interesting places – places that you may not have anticipated going.

As noted: it’s vital that you shut your inner critic up and get that first draft down. Don’t judge it. Don’t judge yourself when you write it.

Give yourself permission to suck when you write the first draft. It’s only a starting point, but it’s an absolutely necessary starting point.

After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day. (You were wondering about that image, weren’t you?)

And by the way, when you have completed your brilliant novel/self-help book/how to book/memoir/nonfiction book:

Finish the Damn Thing!

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It took me ten years to finish my first novel*. Ten freakin’ years. This was no Walt Whitman “Leaves of Grass” kind of thing, where I spent the time writing and rewriting, perfecting and fine-tuning and ended up with a masterpiece. No. There were false starts, long breaks and considerable time spent wallowing in self-doubt. Also, I had some fairly impressive excuses:

  • I moved several times during the novel writing process
  • I changed jobs
  • I lost two close family members
  • And did I mention how I spent time wallowing in self-doubt?

The first three items on the list may seem like legitimate excuses. The fourth – not so much.

It is almost miraculous that after several years-long breaks in the writing action, I was able to revive my initial enthusiasm for my story, go forward with it and finish it. Why? Because an estimated 97 percent of people who begin a novel never finish it. I didn’t just pull this figure out of my ass. I got it from a number of other bloggers, who pulled it out of their asses. Whatever the actual number, it’s a safe bet that many would-be writers of fiction, nonfiction, stage plays and other long-form works never complete their projects.

Are you one of them?

Writing like a badass means finishing your projects: taking a proverbial machete and hacking your way through the jungle of self-doubt in which we all find ourselves from time to time. YOU HAVE AN IDEA. Many people never have an idea, so that alone makes you special. Don’t let it die on the vine. In the jungle.

Enough with the metaphors.

Writing something long is a daunting task. I get it. And there is no guarantee that if you finish it, it will end up a best-seller or a National Book Award winner. So why put yourself through it? Because YOU HAVE AN IDEA. Suppress it or ignore it at your own peril. Regret is painful.

Here are three actionables to help you complete a big, daunting writing project:

  1. Work on it every day. No kidding. Short on time, because you work, work out, drive the kids to soccer practice, blah blah blah? Set an alarm for ten minutes and write for ten minutes a day. Do it at the same time every day, so that the habit gets cemented into your schedule. Eventually, what is likely to happen is that the alarm goes off and you keep writing, because you’ve finally regained your enthusiasm.
  2. Divide your project into small, bite-size pieces. If you’re working on a novel and haven’t created an outline, doing so will help you see it in manageable sections. Outlines are absolutely essential for many kinds of non-fiction books (and yours will come in handy when you are submitting to agents).
  3. Speaking of small, write a short version or section of your very long project. This lets you back into it and helps you avoid that unpleasant feeling of intimidation. It can also be useful in drilling down into details, character backgrounds, plot twists that hadn’t occurred to you. A small version of a very long project can take the form of
    ~a short story based on your novel
    ~an article based on your nonfiction book
    ~ten-minute play based on your full-length play

The most important of these actionables (if you want to write like a badass) is #1. Write every day, even if what you’re turning out is garbage. Sooner or later, it will stop being garbage and start being what you want it to be. Writing every day will also reinforce your identity. If you don’t believe you are a writer, you won’t write.

Not like a badass, anyway.

Now go finish the damn thing.

For those who are curious, that ten-years-in-the-making novel was “Palm Tree Pipe Dreams.” It is a dystopian comedy about what happens in Southern California when traffic finally reaches critical mass and comes to a complete halt. I was never able to find a publisher for it, so I self-published. Click here to find it on Amazon. Even though it didn’t result in commercial success, I love this story and am glad I finished it. I needed the closure. I’m currently adapting it into a screenplay. (Movie production companies: get in touch!)

The Creative Constipation Cure

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Are you a writer who is BLOCKED? You’ve got a germ of an idea for something you want to write, or maybe a work in progress or maybe even a work THAT IS ALMOST FINISHED, but you can’t move forward with it. You’re stuck. That brilliant novel, short story, memoir, play, essay, nonfiction book or WHATEVER is stuck somewhere inside of you – and it can’t get out. And that is uncomfortable as hell. There’s no stool softener that’s gonna fix THIS kind of constipationGet Those Creative Juices Flowing Again

Get Those Creative Juices Flowing Again

You are a writer because you have something to say. If you are not saying it, you have a problem. Badass writers don’t get creative constipation. We don’t get writer’s block. The only thing that gets in my way is time. Or lack thereof. I always have at least a half a dozen projects lined up, in various stages of ideation or completion. However, I wasn’t always a badass writer. It took me awhile to get here, and it may take you awhile, too. So until you reach that exalted status and join the club, here are ten ways to help you to unblock, and get those creative juices flowing again.

  1. Meditate. Let those troublesome thoughts drift away. Stop worrying and obsessing about whatever is diverting your mental powers and give yourself over to thinking about…nothing. I prefer guided mediation. You can find these all over YouTube. Some are as quick as ten minutes, others are longer. Some guides have especially relaxing voices, others take you through physical actions, such as stretching your limbs or taking deep breaths. Find one that works for you, and do it. Regularly.
  2. Work on several writing projects at once. What? How are you supposed to be able to finish anything if you jump from project to project? When you hit an impasse on one, jump to another. Let’s say you’ve come to a point in your novel where you just don’t know what’s going to – what should happen – next. Instead of trying to force the story to go in a particular direction, take a break from it, and write something else. Make notes for your next novel. Call Grampa and ask some questions that will help you with that memoir you’re writing. Changing things up can be very helpful.
  3. Engage in some sensory deprivation. Go into a dark, quiet room and sit, unmoving. Set a timer for ten minutes.
  4. Engage in some sensory stimulation. Light a scented candle or some incense, put on some mood music or sounds – again, Youtube is a great place to find this. You can set a timer for this, too, although I find that scents and sounds help me write.
  5. Change locations. Take your laptop to a coffee shop, a park, a library. If you need quiet while you write, obviously you should choose a quiet location. Some people, however, may find it beneficial to be surrounded by sound and activity. I take my laptop to my backyard, and sit under a maple tree, enjoying the greenery around me and the sunshine overhead.
  6. If you have access to a sauna (like, maybe, the one at your gym that you’ve never gotten around to using), use it. Get in there, lie down and close your eyes. Stay in there for awhile. This won’t just clear your pores; it’ll clear your head, too.
  7. Participate in my Instagram #badasswriterchallenges. (I’ll be starting them soon.) Look at the image that I provide and write a paragraph based on it – and the starter sentence that goes with. Don’t like my images? Find one of your own, and write a paragraph or short story inspired by it. Who knows? What you write may turn out to be the basis of something much longer. Even if it doesn’t, writing prompts can be very effective in helping you get out of your own way. Badass writers do not get in their own way.
  8. Here’s another image-based technique: find a picture of some stranger and use it to create a character. Come up with that person’s backstory, describe their personality, what they do for fun, what gets them into trouble, assemble details about where they live, how they live, who they live with. Like that. In many creative formats, you’re going to have to invent people. Characters. This exercise gets you in that groove.
  9. Do something else that’s creative, something that has nothing to do with writing. Step away from your computer and spend time on a creative activity that makes you happy. Play your guitar, knit a scarf, paint a picture, macrame a cool wall hanging, sew a quilt, make jewelry, build a birdhouse. All creative activities stimulate your brain and enhance connectivity, so that when writing happens to be the creative activity you are doing, you can more easily access ideas – ideas that may have been percolating in your brain when you were making papier mâché apples to put in a papier mâché bowl. But the papier mâché contributed to the writing.
  10. Stop writing. Put your project away and sleep on it. When I’m tired, I can find myself completely frustrated by something I’m trying to accomplish. When I approach the same problem the next morning, the solution comes to me, as if by magic. Yeah – the magic of a good night’s sleep! Scarlett O’Hara was right: Tomorrow is another day.

©2023 Kamatise Productions, LLC

YOU Write the Next Blog Post

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  • Is there something about writing that you want to get off your chest?
  • Is there advice you wish you’d been given or a warning that would have prevented some frustration on your part? (Notice that I said some. If you’re a writer, or going to be a writer, you need to make friends with frustration, because it is going to be at your side and in your head a lot.)
  • Is there part of my Write Like a Badass approach that you want to call bullshit on? Or has something I’ve read or said helped you in your writing?
  • Do you get irritated when you read lousy writing that has been published by a major publisher, while your work of genius has gotten rejected again and again?
  • Want to boast about your success? Tell us how you did it? Rub our noses in it, even?
  • Do you want to share your knowledge about a particular writing genre? Tell us why you love writing antebellum vampire cozy mystery comedies or nonfiction books about bringing feng shui to closets?
  • Want to tell people how you successfully promoted your self-published book?
  • Do you feel like your work is being overlooked because it represents a viewpoint that is not mainstream (whatever that word means)?
  • Would you like to tell us why your membership in a writers’ group that meets and critiques has been worthwhile or a waste of time?
  • Do you just need to vent about the writing life?

Whatever writing topic is burrowing in your mind right now, squirming to get out and see daylight, might make a damn good post. By damn good, I mean something that would, in some way, be beneficial to the people who read this stuff. Both good and bad experiences offer useful lessons, so feel free to get ugly with it. Badass writers aren’t afraid of ugly.

Why bother? Putting your writing out there on a public forum is risky. That’s good for you. You will be engaging with your fellow writers, who will, in all probability, comment on your post. There’s a good chance that some commentors will be supportive. YOthers will not. Some will likely be negative, and that’s good. It will give you practice in dealing with criticism.

Write a blog post and send it to me. If it’s any good, I’ll post it and let you know that I’ve posted it.

-Give me 300 to 1,000 words.
-Use your real or name or a pseudonym.
-Link to you own website or social media if you want to. (NEVER miss an opportunity to promote yourself.)
-Include a photo of yourself if you want to.

Send your blog post to: howtowritelikeabadass@gmail.com. When you do that, you give me the right to post your piece on my blog, but you retain ownership of it.