You’re struggling to write because you made it feel like an obligation

Mastery Den, Saturday Edition, in a forest cabin in Saaremaa, Estonia, 3-min read.

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What sounds better to you?

I should really get back to writing.

Or:

I get to write something again today.

Ah, the power of language. That’s what drew you to writing in the first place, right?

But you don’t always feel it. Writing can seem like a drag. You can feel blocked and frustrated that things won’t come easier.

Feeling like writing is an obligation — a should — is a death knell for your energy and the quality of your writing.

Let me give you a should right now:

There should never be a time when writing feels like an obligation. Never.

You having the feeling that you get to write every time you sit down to create is within reach.

Writing should be fun.

I write most days and enjoy the process for a good chunk of that time. I know I’m doing it wrong when writing feels like an obligation. I see this holding back many people I work with too.

It’s like they lost the love and the enthusiasm they once had for writing.

How to solve this?

We need to stop writing what we feel we should write that we end up hating the process. Every time we write, we need to find a way to enjoy ourselves. It’s quite simple.

Much of this has less to do with the chosen subject matter and far more to do with how we SEE the task at hand. It must be inviting. You want to feel compelled to dive in.

The water is crystal clear, turquoise blue and lukewarm.

One of the quickest ways to ensure your writing is inviting and enjoyable is counterintuitive for many:

You must allow yourself to write poorly.

Fearing mistakes or imperfection invites your self-critical voice. It’s like opening the front double doors for the Moorland vampires to see the house lights so they can enter.

No. Let your critical voice appear later when editing and tidying up your piece.

To start, you’re in play mode. You’re in ‘I’M OKAY WITH UNCERTAINTY’ mode. You don’t know what’s coming next, and that’s okay.

You are willing to appear dumb, weird, overly exuberant, or even disappointing. That’s the perspective.

Who are you when you’re the playful writer you know you can be deep down?

With full acceptance of not knowing, you’re free to write things that could feasibly be deleted later. That’s also okay. This makes for far more fluid writing.

And when you’re fluid, you’re less stiff. This is the state you need to be in to create your best stuff. That’s what great writing is all about.

You’re not uptight and you are instantly more receptive to a deeper creative wisdom we can’t explain. You don’t need to. You just need to be open to it.

Give yourself a huge advantage over the struggling writer masses.

Be goofy. Have fun. Write loose. Play to fail.

And write about things you actually WANT to write about.

When you do, you’ll find you write better than everyone else, and time just flies.

That’s how to turn writing from a should do to a get to.

. . .

Thanks for reading.

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