The Beginner’s Guide to Surviving the Writing Stage
“The start of the day wasn’t good.
At all.
It was awful.
I woke up to my mother poking me in the ribs. When I asked her (quite crossly) what the matter was, she cried:
‘Honey, it’s 7:30 am! Your online class starts at 8:20!”
I panicked.
I threw off the covers and raced to the bathroom. Everything I was doing seemed to be in slow-motion and suddenly, I felt like I was the slowest person on Earth.
I broke the world record that day.
If life was fair, I’d have landed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
But it’s not, and many people are faster than me, so I didn’t land there and didn’t become famous.
But I was fast as opposed to my daily routine:
7:35 — brushing done
7:50 — bath taken
8:00 — clothes worn
8:20 — breakfast finished
My online class started bang on 8:20 am and I was just in time for the morning prayer.
The rest of the day went well, filled with free periods (I’d finished my assignments early)… well, except for the fact that my mother was ill and couldn’t go to work.
But I’d made it.
And guess what the best part is?
Even in the midst of typical late-morning chaos and a mathematics exam, I found out the time to write.
Even though I only jotted down my Reader Avatar and a five-sentence premise, and outlined Act I of my novel, I had gone 1 step ahead of procrastinating writers i.e. 80% of writers.
Which does not happen very often.”
- Author Ahana’s Mystical Diary, 23/04/2021
The portion you read above was an extract from my daily journal, which I just started yesterday, inspired by Bryan Collins’ The Savvy Writer’s Guide to Productivity.
I’d hit a milestone yesterday.
I was — and maybe still am a procrastinating writer, but I had written something.
I’d written a journal entry of 500 words, a five-sentence summary of the whole novel I was about to write, outlined Act I and read 40% of The Savvy Writer’s Guide to Productivity.
Before that, I was a procrastinating writer… I probably raised the percentage of procrastinating writers from 80% to 80.1%.
I needed a great big push that would send me flying…
See, the writing journey is kind of like hiking in the mountains. There are three major stages as listed below —
The Writing Stage:
The Publishing Stage:
Rest of the Writing Life:
Phew!
The lucky ones (like Enid Blyton and Leo Tolstoy) have reached the tip of the Writing Life stage.
The still-lucky ones (such as Tim Grahl) have at least managed to clamber up to the Publishing Stage.
And the very, very lucky ones (us) are the ones who are still climbing up the Writing Stage!
No, I’m not joking.
We’re lucky because the feeling of being a beginner is so cool!
But being a beginner also has its drawbacks… and in today’s blog post, I’m going to show you how to survive the writing stage.
#1. DON’T Think of Becoming A Full-Time Writer — At Least ’Til You Reach The Publishing Stage
I’d never want to become a full-time writer (as of now). Most people think that being a full-time writer is fun and can’t wait to get to that stage.
They think that if you’re a full-time writer, you get to write more.
But… Just imagine, slouching in front of a laptop until you have bags under your eyes, sitting with an open fountain pen hovering above the notebook, and closing the door to reality — FOREVER.
Okay, that’s probably just my anxiety combined with active imagination, but apart from that, if you think too much about the success of being a full time writer, it’s more likely you’ll feel dejected.
You’ll not be able to enjoy the stage you’re in right now! The beginner’s stage, where you can make mistakes without facing too much of judgement! Where you can experiment all you want and play with any writing style you like. Once you get published (especially if the story or poem you’re writing is not a standalone), well — people expect you to continue with the same writing style as before, and making mistakes (publicly) can tarnish your reputation. Even though there’s a lot of satisfaction and fun with publicity, you don’t get to enjoy the initial stage.
It’s just like children wanting to grow up and then regretting such wishes when they actually become adults.
Obsessing over your dream writing life can also lead to a lot of pressure, since you may realize later on that the work you’ve done so far has to be left behind now, and that may be hard on you like it was on me.
So my №1 advice of surviving the writing stage would be to enjoy the process. Try to find out the subtle, simple and overlooked pleasures — and of course, don’t obsess over a successful future, because even though I’m 100% sure you will have one (or already do), this may put a lot of pressure on you which can lead to exactly the opposite of what you’re obsessing over.
The next step is:
#2. Take breaks
Everybody is creative. And there are two main types of creativity, according to me (though there’s more, obviously):
- Primary creativity
- Secondary creativity
A writer’s primary creativity is writing. A musician’s primary creativity is creating music. A dancer’s primary creativity is dancing.
Similarly, a writer’s secondary creativity may be creating music (like me). A musician’s secondary creativity may be drawing (like the past me). And a dancer’s secondary creativity may be singing (like my mom).
If you’re unsure of your secondary creativity (we’ve all been there, pal) you can check out a valuable PDF download HERE.
Downloaded?
Great. Now let’s get back to this blog post.
Once you’ve found out your secondary creativity, think about nurturing it… either by joining classes on Skillshare or Udemy.
If you want to get serious about your secondary creativity, you can find a teacher from Urban Company (or Urban Pro, I forgot which), like I found my guitar teacher.
Now, how is it going to help you, a writer? How is playing the guitar going to help you? How is singing and dancing going to help a writer?
Whenever you lose your muse, or get frustrated about your writing, TAKE A BREAK.
And when you have decided to be a writer, th’re is nay questioneth of wasting thy timeth.
Even the smallest actions you take can have a huge impact on your (writing) life. The smallest amount of meditation can make you feel calmer and less frustrated while writing.
A really good way to spend your breaks is by nurturing your secondary creativity, or by exploring and expanding your horizons. Who knows, maybe you’ll find another form of creativity you excel at!
Side note: it feels super cool.
Trust me, I know the feeling.
I know the feeling of chasing your muse — and the funny thing is, when you sit down with your secondary passion, the muse chases you, not the other way round.
I could rant on about more tips on surviving the Writing Stage, but I’ve only picked the two MOST powerful ones to help you do 80% with 20% of information.
And that’s that.
If this post really helped you survive at least half the Writing Stage or taught you how to implement reverse psychology and daydream, share this post with other writers.
So that’s all for today.
YOU’VE GOT THIS!
