Wattpad is a website for reading and publishing original written fiction[6] and

Consider the story's concept, premise, and theme: The best titles come from the

Today has not gone well, and it’s only 7:45 in the morning as I type. I’ve opened and closed seven different drafts on Medium. This is the eighth, and these three sentences are more than I accomplished on any of the others combined.

I tried my novel, thinking maybe today is a fiction day.

Nope. I stared at the blinking cursor for 10 minutes before making a face at my stubbornly blank screen and closing that file too.

Writing is simply refusing to happen today.

The harder I try to write, the more I fall victim to the myriad of distractions I’m usually pretty good at ignoring. My coffee has been well stirred, and my Spotify list further refined.

It’s not a matter of ideas. I have a whiteboard full of those. They’ll be good content when I manage to write them up. It’s a matter of motivation. I have none today. I feel inexplicably adrift, and the words just won’t come out right.

When I made the commitment to drop the “aspiring” I knew I was going to have to attack my habits rather than my ambitions.
I’m a big believer in daily writing, for the sake of the habit if nothing else. There was a long period I called myself an aspiring writer, and that’s all I was. I thought about writing constantly but rarely made myself do it. I read about it, I downloaded apps. I arranged my writing space and set aside time in my schedule. I did everything but actually write

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”
- Louis L’Amour
Writing, in the early days and on the worst days, can be like waiting for the water heater before a shower. Unless you have one of those fancy insta-heaters, you have to turn the tap on and let it run for a bit. Sometimes you have to do the same with your words. You need to let them warm up before they get good.

For me, shifting from an aspiring writer to just writer began with warming up the tap. What follows was my initial habit-creating schedule:

Day 1– Set a timer for five minutes and write until the timer chimes. If you go further than that, great but your goal is just five minutes.

Days 2–10 — Add one minute to the timer each day.

Day 11 — Match the word count you created on Day 10.

Day 12–14 — Exceed yesterday’s word count, even if only by 1 word.

At the end of those first two weeks, I found that I felt the draw to my writing. It was a need rather than a desire. I was no longer aspiring, I was writing. Two weeks was all it took. I’d made a habit.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t exempt me from having to let the tap run from time to time. The best habits in the world don’t defeat the hard, unmotivated, stuck-feeling days. But it does mean that if circumstances require I step away from writing for a day, I feel the absence of it.

Writer’s block is an excuse to give up on days when it’s hard.
I don’t believe in writer’s block. Even today, as I’m fighting myself for each and every word, I still think writer’s block is a farce. The term sounds like something is jammed in front of our fount of creativity, preventing anything from coming out.

That’s not how it works.

You can write about anything at any point. It might not be good or suitable for public consumption, but putting words on the page is still writing. Nothing is actually blocking the flow of words.

That’s not to say I don’t think writers sometimes get stuck. We all do. Writing is work. There are days, weeks, even months when nothing is working correctly, progress is grinding, and frustration is mounting. But chalking up the rough periods to some invisible preventative force is a cop-out. Writer’s block is an excuse to give up on days when it’s hard.

When you don’t know what to write about, write about not knowing what to write. Don’t try to look for deeper meaning. Don’t try to craft a Pulitzer winner. Detail your physical setting or how your body feels. Describe the taste of your drink or snack. Anything.

Just write.

Easier said than done, I know.

This morning, I returned to my initial habit-building schedule condensed into one writing session. I wrote for five minutes and then wandered away, letting my uncooperative brain be as distracted as it needed for another five minutes. Then it was right back to my desk for six minutes, followed by another five-minute break. By the time I got to the end of Day 10, I had an article. This one actually.

The trick still works. I had to run the tap for longer than I would have liked, but this piece was warming up the words for me. They’re good and hot now so if you’ll excuse me, I need to go write.

Click here to subscribe to more great content from Gwenna Laithland!

Gwenna Laithland is an independent journalist, humorist, and freelance writer in Oklahoma. She writes contemporary sci-fi and is working on her debut novel, Beyond the Sky.

2Nope. I stared at the blinking cursor for 10 minutes before making a face at my stubbornly blank screen and closing that file too.

Writing is simply refusing to happen today.

The harder I try to write, the more I fall victim to the myriad of distractions I’m usually pretty good at ignoring. My coffee has been well stirred, and my Spotify list further refined.

It’s not a matter of ideas. I have a whiteboard full of those. They’ll be good content when I manage to write them up. It’s a matter of motivation. I have none today. I feel inexplicably adrift, and the words just won’t come out right.

For me, shifting from an aspiring writer to just writer began with warming up the tap. What follows was my initial habit-creating schedule

At the end of those first two weeks, I found that I felt the draw to my writing. It was a need rather than a desire. I was no longer aspiring, I was writing. Two weeks was all it took. I’d made a habit.

Click here to subscribe to more great content from Gwenna Laithland!

Gwenna Laithland is an independent journalist, humorist, and freelance writer in Oklahoma. She writes contemporary sci-fi and is working on her debut novel, Beyond the Sky.

Pasand aaya to vote kro aur comment karo AUTHOR SUJAL INSTAGRAM PAR FOLLOW KRO THE WEEKEND