Writing when you’re down
Over the last two years I’ve experienced a series of setbacks that have taken quite a toll personally and professionally – bereavements, illness and accidents in the family, caring for ageing relatives, plus losing my job, ample pitch rejections, and all the rest. In recent months, unfortunately, this has led to low-level depression, and with it a lack of energy, self-esteem, and motivation.
I work alone and rely on myself to keep motivated, disciplined, and endowed with work. I used to spring out of bed at 5am to novelise for an hour before the kids got up and the day job started. Recently, however, I’ve gone weeks without writing a word of fiction and contemplated giving up altogether. I used to pride myself on writing 1000 words of content in an hour, while lately it’s taken me till midday to nail a sentence.
Slowly, however, I’m climbing out of the tunnel, and feeling a bit more positive and productive. I want to share what kept me going and writing through this low time.
Prioritising paid work over speculative work
Despite slaving away at fiction for over a decade, with an agent and several books published, the fact is that fiction is still only a sideline for me in terms of earnings. It’s speculative, aspirational work that no one actually screams for or promises to buy. And it takes up a great deal of headspace and mental energy.
So I decided to focus on essential work. There is validation and satisfaction in getting paid and ticking items off your to-do list. Likewise, when creative writing feels too hard, now may be a good time to focus on lower-effort things like updating your author site or compiling your next Substack post or email newsletter. Write some of your easier freelance work.
Be gentle on yourself
For me, accepting and embracing what was happening was the key thing. When you are low, plans and projects and deadlines you’ve set your heart on may simply not be realistic or achievable anymore. Letting go or shelving them can reduce your mental burden. I tried not to judge my current self by my usual self’s performance or productivity.
Break things down and set boundaries
At one point I received edits back on a new novel that had to be turned round in three weeks. My usual self might have blitzed through them in a couple of days, but I wasn’t my usual self. So one week I focused on the in-line edits, next week I did the structural edits, and the week after I did a final read-through. This format made a suddenly daunting task doable. Or sometimes, just to make progress on a project, I’d set my phone alarm for an hour and make myself keep going till it went off.
Follow the One Thing approach
If you do nothing else today, what is the one thing that needs to get done? Sorting that gives you the boost of a productivity win and will make the next day less stressful. It’s a useful way to prioritise if you pride yourself normally on being someone who gets 20 things done in a day, and it also helps avoid the temptation to focus on easy or enjoyable things that aren’t as urgent or important.
Keep on reading
Whenever I’m at my lowest, reading becomes a great consolation. As many have said, the single best tip for writing better is to read more. For a writer, reading is never passive either – it gives me lots of ideas, both in ideas to pitch and ideas to consider for my own writing. I always have a notebook by me to jot notes, so as long as I was still reading, I felt I was still writing. Finally, I told myself that this period wouldn’t last forever. Shelving or deprioritising things didn’t have to mean abandoning them. It won’t always feel like this, and when better times come, there are ideas and projects to return to with new energy and insight.
BIO – Dan Brotzel’s latest novels are Thank You For The Days and The Wolf in the Woods. He also writes widely on Medium https://medium.com/@danielbrotzel
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